Talon Air Services LLC v. CMA Design Studio, P.C.

86 A.D.3d 511, 927 N.Y.2d 643
CourtAppellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York
DecidedJuly 28, 2011
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 86 A.D.3d 511 (Talon Air Services LLC v. CMA Design Studio, P.C.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of the State of New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Talon Air Services LLC v. CMA Design Studio, P.C., 86 A.D.3d 511, 927 N.Y.2d 643 (N.Y. Ct. App. 2011).

Opinion

[512]*512Plaintiff Talon Air Services LLC brought this action for professional malpractice and breach of contract against defendants Kevin Koubek, EE. (Koubek) and CMA Design Studio, EC. (CMA) in connection with the construction of an aircraft hangar owned and operated by plaintiff. Plaintiff alleges that defendants submitted plans and specifications to the Suffolk County Department of Health Services (DHS) for a single-walled sanitary waste trench, but, because the hangar was to be used for maintenance, a double-walled hazardous waste trench was required pursuant to the Suffolk County Sanitary Code § 760-1210 (article 12). Plaintiff alleges that it suffered damages when it had to replace the single-walled trench with a double-walled trench.

The following facts are established in the record: In or around January 2004, plaintiff entered into an agreement with Atlantic Aviation Services (Atlantic) to jointly sublease land and construct a 30,000-square-foot hangar and 8,000 square feet of office space. On February 3, 2004, plaintiff entered into an agreement with Koubek for mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineering design services including “designing] and detailing] . . . required site drainage for the new tarmac area and any required oil separators for the hangar region.” On July 9, 2004, plaintiff entered into an agreement with CMA for architectural services. Mechanical and structural engineering services were specifically excluded from CMA’s contract.

Construction of the hangar commenced in June 2004. On July 26, 2004, Atlantic submitted an application to the Suffolk County Department of Health Services (DHS) for sewage disposal facilities and water supply systems, which described the hangar as a “New aircraft storage hangar, w/o service or maintenance work.” When asked in a Department of Public Works application to list “all . . . processes” to be performed at the hangar, Atlantic responded “N/A Aircraft washing.”

On May 2, 2005, plaintiffs vice-president wrote to DHS to confirm that “the only operations conducted in [the hangar] [513]*513will be the washing of aircraft.” In a reply letter dated May 3, 2005, DHS verified that there would be no “aircraft engine maintenance performed that would necessitate oil changes, hydraulic and brake fluid replacement, painting of aircraft exteriors or any other activity using toxic or hazardous materials.” DHS further verified that, based upon plaintiffs declarations, the operation would be viewed as a “vehicle wash station.”

DHS stated in the letter that “double-walled equipment [was not required] to be installed within the hangar” and that the “single-walled oil water separator can remain in place and does not need a permit from this office.” DHS further stated that “[s]hould the use of the hangar building change to include maintenance activities using toxic or hazardous materials, your operation will be reclassified and the proper double-walled equipment will have to be installed.” In a separate memorandum from DHS to Koubek dated May 6, 2005, DHS confirmed that the “vehicle/airplane wash system incorporation is exempt from Article 12 requirements.”

The hangar and trench were put into operation in June 2005 and inspected by DHS on July 5, 2005. DHS concluded that plaintiff was occupying the hangar and improperly discharging waste into a sewage facility without “final approval.” Because plaintiff was authorized to discharge only sanitary waste, “any wastewater generated from the hangar area [could] not be discharged to the sewer.”

The drain for the trench was subsequently plugged and capped while a double-walled trench and oil water separator were installed. On August 2, 2007, plaintiff initiated this action alleging that as a result of defendants’ failure to properly design the trench, the hangar was not fully functional until July 2007 when the double-walled trench was completed.

Plaintiff’s president testified at deposition that plaintiff “always” intended to use the hangar for maintenance, and that “[e]veryone knew it.” However, later in the deposition, he admitted that the decision to perform maintenance was made after May 2005. Plaintiffs president conceded that as of May 6, 2005, plaintiff did not intend to use or store any toxic or hazardous materials in the hangar.

On March 26, 2009, Koubek moved for summary judgment dismissal of the complaint against him on the grounds that plaintiff represented to DHS that the hangar would only be used for storage and washing, and that DHS had determined that article 12 was not applicable. Koubek asserts that his plans and specifications, including the single-walled trench, were consistent with good and accepted engineering practices.

[514]*514On March 31, 2009, CMA also moved for summary judgment dismissal on the grounds that, inter alia, Koubek, not CMA, was responsible for the design and specifications of the trench. CMA maintains that it rendered services in accordance with accepted architectural design standards.

Plaintiff cross-moved for summary judgment on May 14, 2009. In support, plaintiff submitted, inter alia, the expert opinion of the engineer who was hired by plaintiff to design the double-walled trench that replaced the single-walled trench. Based on his review of defendants’ site drawings as well as a site visit, plaintiff’s expert opined that defendants’ work did not meet generally accepted industry standards because the trench did not comply with article 12. He stated that Koubek’s use of another engineer’s designs deviated from standard practices, and that it is “patently improper for any licensed design professional ... to advise a client to commence construction prior to the issuance of any necessary . . . permits.”

Plaintiffs expert concluded that completion of the project in compliance with article 12 “enabled the [hjangar to operate as originally intended by [plaintiff],” including the storage of toxic or flammable materials. The expert further opined that article 12 would “likely” be applicable to the project even if the hangar was only used for washing aircraft because washing aircraft “could” release toxic materials.

On September 8, 2009, the motion court granted defendants’ motions for summary judgment. The court found that CMA was not contractually responsible for designing the trench and performed no work on the trench. The court also found that the allegation that Koubek breached his contract by failing to design the trench in accordance with article 12, “for which there was an applied for, documented, and utilized exemption, is implausible on its face.”

The court concluded that the proximate cause of plaintiffs injury was not “the completion of the project in compliance with the declared intended use,” but plaintiffs “change in the intended use, for which [plaintiff] alone is responsible.” On appeal, plaintiff argues that the motion court erred in disregarding the opinion of its expert. Plaintiff also argues that the motion court “conflated” the claims against Koubek and CMA, and that the claims against CMA stem from its selection of Koubek for the project and its advice to plaintiff to commence construction prior to the issuance of necessary permits.

For the following reasons, we affirm. Defendants established prima facie that they were neither negligent nor breached their contracts (see generally Alvarez v Prospect Hosp., 68 NY2d 320 [515]*515[1986]).

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Bluebook (online)
86 A.D.3d 511, 927 N.Y.2d 643, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/talon-air-services-llc-v-cma-design-studio-pc-nyappdiv-2011.