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Smart Summary

Factual and Procedural Background

This appeal arises from an action seeking damages for trespass and related relief. The plaintiffs, Henry B. Carlson et al., brought causes of action against the defendants, including Erwin B. Zimmerman et al., alleging trespass onto plaintiffs' property. The Supreme Court, Suffolk County, granted summary judgment in favor of the plaintiffs on liability for the first and second causes of action and dismissed the defendants' counterclaims as time-barred. The defendants appealed the order.

Legal Issues Presented

  1. Whether the plaintiffs were entitled to summary judgment on the issue of liability for trespass and injunctive relief.
  2. Whether the defendants' counterclaims related to damages from erosion caused by the plaintiffs’ activities were barred by the statute of limitations.

Arguments of the Parties

The opinion does not contain a detailed account of the parties' legal arguments.

Table of Precedents Cited

Precedent Rule or Principle Cited For Application by the Court
Woodhull v Town of Riverhead, 46 AD3d 802, 804 Definition of trespass as intentional entry without justification or permission. Used to establish plaintiffs’ prima facie case that defendants intentionally entered the land without permission.
Long Is. Gynecological Servs. v Murphy, 298 AD2d 504 Supports the principle that intentional entry without lawful right constitutes trespass. Reinforced plaintiffs’ entitlement to summary judgment on liability.
Golonka v Plaza at Latham, 270 AD2d 667, 669 Similar application to trespass liability based on unauthorized entry. Supported the conclusion that defendants lacked lawful right or permission to enter.
State of New York v Johnson, 45 AD3d 1016, 1019 Requirement that defendants show lawful right or permission to enter land to avoid trespass liability. Defendants failed to raise triable issue of fact regarding lawful entry, justifying summary judgment.
Zuckerman v City of New York, 49 NY2d 557, 562 Standard for granting summary judgment under CPLR 3212(b). Guided the court’s analysis on plaintiffs’ entitlement to summary judgment.
Friends of Animals v Associated Fur Mfrs., 46 NY2d 1065, 1067 Standards relating to summary judgment and burden of proof. Helped frame the evidentiary standard met by plaintiffs.
Bloomfield v Bloomfield, 97 NY2d 188, 193 Application of CPLR 203(d) allowing untimely claims arising from same transaction to be asserted defensively. Supported denial of dismissal of counterclaims related to erosion damages as not barred by statute of limitations.
DeMille v DeMille, 5 AD3d 428, 429 Clarification that CPLR 203(d) permits untimely claims only as a shield, not for affirmative relief. Used to explain limits on defendants’ counterclaims but justify their survival to offset damages.
Delta Funding Corp. v Murdaugh, 6 AD3d 571, 571-572 Similar principle regarding limitation and defensive use of claims under CPLR 203(d). Applied to support the offsetting of erosion damages against plaintiffs’ claims.
Rothschild v Industrial Test Equip. Co., 203 AD2d 271, 272 Further explanation of CPLR 203(d) and statute of limitations defense. Reinforced the court’s reasoning on counterclaims’ timeliness and permissible use.

Court's Reasoning and Analysis

The court analyzed the plaintiffs' entitlement to summary judgment on liability for trespass by applying established legal principles defining trespass as an intentional entry without justification or permission. The plaintiffs met their prima facie burden by showing the defendants entered their land intentionally and without lawful right or permission, as supported by cited precedents. The defendants failed to raise a triable issue of fact to counter this showing, justifying summary judgment for the plaintiffs on liability.

Regarding the defendants' counterclaims alleging damages from erosion caused by plaintiffs’ excavation activities, the court applied CPLR 203(d), which allows otherwise time-barred claims arising from the same transaction as the complaint to be asserted defensively. Because the erosion damages arose from the same transaction and were related to the plaintiffs’ admitted excavation activities, the court found that dismissing these counterclaims as time-barred was erroneous. However, the counterclaims could be used only as a shield to offset damages, not to obtain affirmative relief.

Holding and Implications

The court MODIFIED AND AFFIRMED the order by deleting the provision granting summary judgment dismissing the defendants' counterclaims as time-barred to the extent those counterclaims alleged erosion damages caused by the plaintiffs. That branch of the motion was denied to that extent. As modified, the order was affirmed without costs or disbursements.

The direct effect is that the plaintiffs retain summary judgment on liability for trespass, while the defendants may pursue their erosion-related counterclaims defensively to offset any damages awarded to the plaintiffs. No new precedent was established beyond the application of existing principles regarding trespass liability and the scope of CPLR 203(d).

HENRY B. CARLSON et al., Respondents, v. ERWIN B. ZIMMERMAN et al., Appellants, et al., Defendants.

Ordered that the order is modified, on the law, by deleting the provision thereof granting that branch of the plaintiffs' motion which was for summary judgment dismissing the defendants' counterclaims as time-barred to the extent that those counter-claims allege damages resulting from erosion of the defendants' properties caused by the plaintiffs' activities, and substituting therefor a provision denying that branch of the plaintiffs' motion to that extent; as so modified, the order is affirmed, without costs or disbursements.

The Supreme Court properly found that the plaintiffs were entitled to summary judgment on the issue of liability on their first cause of action, which was to recover damages for trespass, and their second causes of action, pursuant to which the plaintiffs sought to enjoin the defendants' alleged continuing trespass. "Trespass is an intentional entry onto the land of another without justification or permission" ( Woodhull v Town of Riverhead, 46 AD3d 802, 804). Here, the plaintiffs satisfied their prima facie burden of establishing their entitlement to judgment as a matter of law on the issue of liability in connection with these causes of action by demonstrating that the defendants intentionally entered onto the land belonging to the plaintiffs "without justification or permission" ( id.; see Long Is. Gynecological Servs. v Murphy, 298 AD2d 504; Golonka v Plaza at Latham, 270 AD2d 667, 669). In opposition, the defendants failed to raise a triable issue of fact as to whether they either had "a lawful right to enter these properties or had the owner's permission" ( State of New York v Johnson, 45 AD3d 1016, 1019). Accordingly, the Supreme Court properly granted that branch of the plaintiffs' motion which was for summary judgment on the issue of liability on these causes of action ( see CPLR 3212 [b]; Zuckerman v City of New York, 49 NY2d 557, 562; Friends of Animals v Associated Fur Mfrs., 46 NY2d 1065, 1067).

The Supreme Court erred, however, in granting that branch of the plaintiffs' motion which was to dismiss the defendants' counterclaims as time-barred insofar as the counterclaims pertained to erosion of the defendants' properties caused by the plaintiffs' activities. Under CPLR 203 (d), "claims and defenses that arise out of the same transaction as a claim asserted in the complaint are not barred by the Statute of Limitations, even though an independent action by defendant might have been time-barred at the time the action was commenced" ( Bloomfield v Bloomfield, 97 NY2d 188, 193). "The provisions of CPLR 203 (d) allow a defendant to assert an otherwise untimely claim which arose out of the same transactions alleged in the complaint, but only as a shield for recoupment purposes, and does not permit the defendant to obtain affirmative relief ( DeMille v DeMille, 5 AD3d 428, 429; see Delta Funding Corp. v Murdaugh, 6 AD3d 571, 571-572; Rothschild v Industrial Test Equip. Co., 203 AD2d 271, 272). Here, there is evidence that some of the defendants' trespassing activities were undertaken in an attempt to correct damage that the plaintiffs admitted to having caused by excavating too deeply into their land abutting properties belonging to the defendants, and failing to leave a sufficient buffer area along the border. It is undisputed that these activities caused erosion on the affected properties, allegations concerning which form the basis of portions of the defendants' counterclaims. Accordingly, the Supreme Court should have denied that branch of the plaintiffs' motion which was to dismiss the counterclaims as time-barred to the extent that the damages sought in the counterclaims are for the erosion caused by the plaintiffs' excavating activities, and/or to reimburse the defendants' costs in attempting to correct the resulting damage. These damages should be applied to offset any damages award in favor of the plaintiffs and against the defendants ( cf. Delta Funding Corp. v Murdaugh, 6 AD3d at 571-572; DeMille v DeMille, 5 AD3d at 429).

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CARLSON v. ZIMMERMAN
(Jun 9, 2009)