Southampton Town Trustees Dealt Another Blow After Judge Tosses Suit Challenging Ownership Of Land In West Hampton Dunes

The decade-long battle between the Southampton Town Trustees and the Village of West Hampton Dunes over a spit of redeposited sand jutting out into Moriches Bay appears to have ended on a technicality.

Early last week, State Supreme Court Justice Peter H. Mayer dismissed a 2006 lawsuit filed by the Town Trustees against both the village and some three dozen of its homeowners, challenging their claim to several hundred feet of sand sticking out along the bayside of the oceanfront village, ruling that the plaintiffs waited too long to claim ownership.

In their original suit, the Town Trustees charged that land in question—estimated to total between 7 and 8 acres—was nothing more than sand that was deposited there during a series of powerful nor’easters in 1992 and 1993. The Trustees had argued that the sand in question was redeposited bay bottom, meaning that it was under their authority prior to being relocated by nature, and remained so.

The defendants, meanwhile, insisted that the land was created by both accretion, the slow and steady accumulation of land—essentially, the opposite of erosion—and avulsion, the more rapid displacement and relocation of soil and sand. Therefore, they insist, the land belongs to them.

On January 25, Justice Mayer dismissed the case without addressing the underlying issues—he said that because the Trustees did not file their challenge until 2006, some 13 years after the sand was redeposited, the statute of limitations on the lawsuit had expired. As a result, the land belongs to the property owners.

“The law provides limits,” said Jonathan Sinnreich, an attorney with the Sinnreich & Kosakoff law firm in Central Islip that represents six of the families named as defendants in the original suit. “The last storm that caused the breach was in 1992, and they didn’t sue us until 2005 or 2006. The statute of limitations is 10 years. They waited more than 10 years to start the lawsuit.”

The Trustees can still appeal the ruling, though they had not yet decided to do so as of earlier this week. If they pick that path, they must file their appeal with the Appellate Division in Brooklyn within 30 days of the decision, which was handed down on January 25. Once that is done, the Trustees would have another six months to finalize their appeal, meaning a decision on their appeal could still be another two to three years down the road.

A second option, according to the attorney representing the Trustees, Richard Cahn of Cahn & Cahn LLP in Huntington, is to take their challenge of land ownership to trial. That is still a viable option because, as noted by Mr. Cahn, Justice Mayer never actually ruled on the issue and, instead, opted to dismiss the challenge on a technicality.

“There is still another legal phase of this case, and it is not uncertain that the defendants will end up with this title after the trial,” Mr. Cahn said this week. “It may end up that both sides are losers, and the defendants do not have clear title.”

When reached this week Town Trustee Eric Shultz said he and other members of his board still need to discuss the case with Mr. Cahn. Still, Mr. Shultz insisted that ownership has not yet been decided.

“They said we waited too long to take this on, to start this case, which is not true, but the judge now has not decided on title,” Mr. Shultz said. “That still has to go to trial. The question is still open.”

But West Hampton Dunes Mayor Gary Vegliante, one of the defendant’s in the lawsuit, said last month’s ruling should clear the way to allow the village’s property owners to subdivide their land and, if they want, build new homes on it.

“They tried to steal a lot that I purchased legitimately,” Mr. Vegliante said. “They brought the case against my wishes and thoughts, and nearly bankrupted us—but they didn’t care, because they were spending the taxpayer’s money.”

Town Trustee President Ed Warner said he wants to appeal the ruling, though the final decision would be made by the entire board. They intend to meet with Mr. Cahn in executive session on Monday to discuss their options, he added.

The ruling is the second significant one to go against the Trustees since the start of the new year. On January 7, the State Court of Appeals—the highest court in New York—opted not to hear an appeal by the Trustees regarding a lower court ruling that stripped them of their authority to regulate the installation of erosion control devices, including hardened structures, along the oceanfront within incorporated villages.