Town of Addison v. Meeks
| Decision Date | 08 November 1996 |
| Citation | 649 N.Y.S.2d 274,233 A.D.2d 843 |
| Parties | TOWN OF ADDISON, Respondent, v. Ronald K. MEEKS, Appellant. |
| Court | New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division |
Raymond J. Urbanski, Elmira, for Appellant.
Yorio, English and Roche (Philip J. Roche, of counsel), Painted Post, for Respondent.
Before DENMAN, P.J., and LAWTON, WESLEY, CALLAHAN and BALIO, JJ.
Plaintiff, Town of Addison (Town), commenced this action against defendant, the owner of property abutting and underlying Miller Road, seeking permanently to enjoin defendant from interfering with the Town's maintenance of, and the public's travel over, Miller Road. Defendant appeals from an order and judgment granting a preliminary injunction and declaring that Miller Road has become a Town highway pursuant to Highway Law § 189, which provides that "[a]ll lands which shall have been used by the public as a highway for the period of ten years or more, shall be a highway, with the same force and effect as if it had been duly laid out and recorded as a highway".
Contrary to defendant's contention, the evidence supports the finding that Miller Road has become a Town highway by public use and maintenance. The record is replete with evidence of consistent and unrestricted use of the road for more than 10 years by the general public. Those users have included the residents and their families; the absentee landowners and their employees; public servants such as mail carriers, school bus drivers, and municipal work crews; patrons of defendant's fruit stand; utility workers; and hunters, snowmobilers, and curiosity seekers. The Town's witnesses described a daily steady stream of traffic, including vehicles and pedestrians (see, Matter of Jemzura v. Mussision, 161 A.D.2d 851, 852, 555 N.Y.S.2d 491, lv. denied 76 N.Y.2d 714, 564 N.Y.S.2d 717, 565 N.E.2d 1268, rearg. denied77 N.Y.2d 874, 568 N.Y.S.2d 916, 571 N.E.2d 86; Impastato v. Village of Catskill, 55 A.D.2d 714, 715, 389 N.Y.S.2d 152, affd. 43 N.Y.2d 888, 403 N.Y.S.2d 497, 374 N.E.2d 394 on mem below ).
Similarly, the Town sustained its burden of showing a sufficient exercise of dominion over the road by its longstanding and unchallenged efforts to improve, repair, and maintain it on at least a yearly basis (see, Provencher v. Town of Saranac, 168 A.D.2d 770, 564 N.Y.S.2d 219; Stuart v. Town of Wells, 161 A.D.2d 1073, 557 N.Y.S.2d 629). Those efforts have included widening, grading, raking and spreading gravel on the road;...
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