Peconic Land Trust, Inc. v. Salvatore
About This Legal Opinion
In this easement violation case, the trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the land trust when landowner violated the easement’s notice requirement with regard to both the tree cutting and improvements.
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First Blue East LLC v. Peconic Land Trust, Inc.
The court granted land trust’s motion to dismiss where easement clearly prohibited residential structures and land trust denied landowner request to build labor housing in connection with farming operations.
McCulloch v. Town of Milan
To date, this is the only reported case in which a landowner has claimed racial discrimination as a version of selective enforcement in a conservation easement violations context. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the Town.
Easement Violation Process Decision Tree
Use the following checklist to help identify an easement violation.
Buckley v. Greensboro Land Trust
The court held for land trust on summary judgment, finding no implicit reasonable requirement in the subdivision prohibition provision.
Weston Forest and Trail Association, Inc. v. Fishman
Trial court entered summary judgment for land trust, and ordered the landowner to remove the barn and restoration of the area to its prior condition. The court rejected the landowner's arguments based on laches, estoppel, and waiver.
Westchester Land Trust v. Town of Lewisboro
The trial court granted WLT's motion for summary judgment, finding that the proposed wolf habitat facility would violate the conservation easement.
U & ME Homes LLC v. County of Suffolk
The trial court granted summary judgment for the LLC and denied summary judgment to the Town and County. Following well-developed New York common law, the court ruled that the deed restriction did not include any language evidencing the requisite intent to run with the land.
Protect the Adirondacks!, Inc. v. New York State Dep’t of Envtl. Court of Appeals opinion
The Court of Appeals affirmed the intermediate appellate court’s decision that the snowmobile trails violated the State’s Constitution adopting a unitary analysis, noting that any tree removal is subsumed into the forever wild requirement.
Wooster v. Department of Fish and Game
The appellate court affirmed the trial court in holding that the posting requirement was a covenant, and not a condition subsequent, of the easement, and therefore the failure to comply with this requirement was not grounds for rescission.
Mohonk Preserve v Pardini, Fink, and Taylor II
The trial court conducted a lengthy bench trial and ultimately ruled in favor of challenger to land trust title. The appellate court reversed, finding several flaws with the trial court's analysis.