Briggs v. Chapman

Decision Date17 July 2008
Docket NumberNo. 503966,503966
Citation863 N.Y.S.2d 97,2008 NY Slip Op 6335,53 A.D.3d 900
PartiesJOHN BRIGGS et al., Respondents, v. ANDREW J. CHAPMAN et al., Defendants, and ALPHA & OMEGA OUTFITTERS, LLC, Appellant.
CourtNew York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

Appeal from an order of the Supreme Court (Demarest, J.), entered June 22, 2007 in St. Lawrence County, which granted plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment.

Kavanagh, J.

In 1972, defendants Andrew J. Chapman and Thelma Chapman obtained a permit from the Department of Environmental Conservation for the reconstruction of a dam on their property, located on Grass Lake in the Town of Rossie, St. Lawrence County. Plaintiffs, owners of real property along Grass Lake, commenced this action in November 2004, alleging that the Chapmans violated the terms of their permit by the way they constructed this dam and have, as a result, negligently or deliberately obstructed the flow of water into the lake, raising the water level and causing flooding to plaintiffs' properties. By order entered in April 2005, Supreme Court granted plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment on the issue of liability finding that there was "ample proof ... that [the Chapmans] have no right to flood [plaintiffs' properties] above the permit[ted level]." This Court affirmed that order (30 AD3d 923 [2006]).

In March 2006, Thelma Chapman executed a quit claim deed transferring title of the Chapmans' property to defendant Alpha & Omega Outfitters, LLC (hereinafter defendant) and plaintiffs, thereafter, amended their complaint to add defendant as a party. As a result of defendant's expressed belief that it had a right to raise the level of the lake above the permitted elevation of 323.75 feet, plaintiffs again moved for summary judgment on the issue of liability. Defendant argued that it was not bound by Supreme Court's prior order, the motion for summary judgment was premature and issues of fact existed that precluded summary judgment. Supreme Court granted summary judgment on the issue of liability in plaintiffs' favor, finding that defendant "derive[d its] title from the prior owner," and that it had already ruled that the Chapmans did not have the right to raise the level of the lake above the limit set by the Department of Environmental Conservation permit. Defendant now appeals.

Defendant is bound by Supreme Court's prior order granting summary judgment on the issue of liability in plaintiffs' favor. Under the law of the case doctrine, parties or their privies are "preclude[d from] relitigating an issue decided in an ongoing action where there previously was a full and fair opportunity to address the issue" (Town of Massena v Healthcare Underwriters Mut. Ins. Co., 40 AD3d 1177, 1179 [2007]; see Webster v Ragona, 51 AD3d 1128, 1131-1132 [2008]; Beneke v Town of Santa Clara, 45 AD3d 1164, 1165 [2007], lv denied 10 NY3d 706 [2008]). Here, it is without question that defendant is seeking to relitigate an issue—the right to raise the lake above the permitted level—that was decided by Supreme Court after the Chapmans, their immediate predecessors in title, were given a full and fair opportunity to address it. Only after the Chapmans had filed an answer to the complaint and responded to the motion, did Supreme Court render its decision and enter its order.

Further, while defendant was not an actual party to the motion, it stands in privity with the Chapmans....

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18 cases
  • Town of Verona v. Cuomo
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court (New York)
    • 27 Junio 2014
    ...an issue decided in an ongoing action where there previously was a full and fair opportunity to address the issue' “ (Briggs v. Chapman, 53 A.D.3d 900, 863 N.Y.S.2d 97 [3rd Dept., 2008], at 901, quoting Town of Massena v. Healthcare Underwriters Mut. Ins. Co., 40 A.D.3d 1177, 1179 [2007], a......
  • Town of N. Elba v. Grimditch
    • United States
    • New York Supreme Court Appellate Division
    • 2 Julio 2015
    ...holding as to the applicability of the LUC, they are precluded from doing so under the law of the case doctrine (see Briggs v. Chapman, 53 A.D.3d 900, 901, 863 N.Y.S.2d 97 [2008] ; Beneke v. Town of Santa Clara, 45 A.D.3d 1164, 1165, 846 N.Y.S.2d 681 [2007], lv. denied 10 N.Y.3d 706, 857 N.......
  • Thompson v. Glob. Contact Servs.
    • United States
    • United States District Courts. 2nd Circuit. United States District Court (Eastern District of New York)
    • 4 Agosto 2021
    ...and attorneys” when the conduct arose “out of the same dispute that gave rise to the [previously litigated] claims”); Briggs v. Chapman, 863 N.Y.S.2d 97, 99 (App. Div. 2008) (finding privity between the corporate defendant and parties who are “officers, shareholders and/or owners of [d]efen......
  • Mastrantonio v. King
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court (New York)
    • 9 Marzo 2021
    ...656 N.Y.S.2d 676 [2d Dept 1997]; Specialty Rests. Corp. v Barry, 236 A.D.2d 754, 653 N.Y.S.2d 972 [3d Dept 1997]; ** Briggs v Chapman, 53 A.D.3d 900, 863 N.Y.S.2d 97 [3d Dept 2008]). "Controlling status over a corporation constitutes privity with it as a matter of law" (Karali v Araujo, 48 ......
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