Representative Cases
Environmental Litigation
Chitayat v. Vanderbilt Associates, et al. We represented a former one-fourth partner of the defendant, Vanderbilt Associates, in a federal action filed pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act ("CERCLA"). During the 1970s and early 1980s, Vanderbilt leased a two-acre parcel of commercial-industrial property to a tenant whose activities resulted in, or contributed to, contamination of the site. Prior to entering into a contract of sale to purchase the property from the defendants in the mid-1980s, the plaintiff was made aware of the contamination. In 1998, the plaintiff entered into a consent order with the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) in which he agreed to reimburse the DEC for the costs incurred by that agency in remediating the contamination of the site. In 2003, the plaintiff commenced this federal action against Vanderbilt and the estate of one of its former partners. Third-party claims for indemnification were then filed by the defendant estate against the two remaining but unnamed former partners of Vanderbilt or their successors in interest. On motions for summary judgment by defendants and third-party defendants, the Court dismissed the plaintiff's cost recovery claim on the ground that the plaintiff had not incurred any response costs himself, but rather had agreed to reimburse the DEC for that agency's response costs. The contribution claim was dismissed as time-barred under the three-year statute of limitations applicable to that claim.
Gorman v. Town of East Hampton. A group of property owners in the vicinity of the town airport sued the town, claiming that the requirements of the State Environmental Quality Review Act were not followed by the town noard in approving the widening and reconstruction of the main runway, at a cost of $3 million. The Supreme Court dismissed the action, holding that the town followed all of the applicable environmental regulations. The appellate courts refused to disturb the dismissal.
Real Estate Law
Weiss v. Town of Babylon and Giannini. We secured a declaratory judgment under the provisions of the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law that invalidated a right-of-way over the plaintiff's commercial property, although the right-of-way had appeared on the town's maps and the county's tax map for many years. The Court held that the failure of the original owner of the right-of-way to include it as a memorial on a Torrens title certificate issued to the plaintiff under New York's now defunct Land Title Registration Law, invalidated the right-of-way as against the plaintiff and his successors in interest.
Cablevision v. Northrop Grumman Corp. We represented Cablevision in litigation involving the purchase of Cablevision's headquarters building located in Bethpage, Long Island. The property's former owner, Northrop Grumman Corp., had obligated itself to perform asbestos abatement activities in the facility prior to conveyance of title. During the performance of those duties, fungi and mold were discovered which substantially interfered with future occupancy of the building. The matter was settled.
Lynch v. Long Island Railroad Company. We filed an action against the Long Island Railroad on behalf of the local owner of a valuable parcel of commercial real property in East Hampton, seeking title to the property by adverse possession. The firm argued that the railroad — which had actually held title to the property since 1894 — did so in a proprietary capacity, therefore permitting title to be acquired by a private individual through adverse possession. The case was settled.
Clark v. Moore. The firm successfully defended the owner of a non-waterfront parcel of real property in West Islip, New York who possesses an 80-year-old deeded right of access across a neighbor’s property to a dock and canal located on a river which flows into the Great South Bay. The waterfront or riparian neighbor, who was "subject to" the defendant's right of access, commenced an action seeking to restrict and/or eliminate the defendant’s easement rights. The case settled on the eve of trial, with the parties executing and recording an agreement that permitted the firm's client to reconstruct the dock and also gave him exclusive use and maintenance rights to the dock.
Corporate Law
Employment discrimination
Gunderson v. Trinity Homecare, Optioncare and Walgreen Co. The firm represented a former employee of a company that provides in-home healthcare to patients in a state "whistleblower" claim. The employee was terminated from his position as a quality assurance supervisor shortly after reporting certain matters to management. The case is still pending.
Behounek v. Aramark Uniform and Career Apparel, LLC. The firm represents a former employee of the defendant in a federal action brought under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). The employee requested permission to take FMLA leave in order to care for his wife who was terminally ill. During his leave of absence, the employee's supervisor issued a series of memoranda noting alleged deficiencies in the employee's job performance and setting goals that the employee felt were impossible to meet, considering his lengthy absence due to his wife's illness. The case is still pending.
Breach of contract litigation
Arrow Electronics, Inc. v. Gerard. We represented Arrow Electronics in a federal action seeking preliminary and permanent injunctive relief against a regional sales manager who resigned his position with Arrow to assume a similar position with a competitor, notwithstanding the former employee's execution of a confidentiality agreement containing a restrictive covenant precluding such activity. While the motion for injunctive relief was pending, the matter was settled.
Civil Litigation
Personal injury defense
Malissa v. Pennzoil Products (Shell Oil Company). We represented Pennzoil in an action seeking damages for loss of a finger and other severe personal injuries sustained by a mechanic in an explosion of a tire that had been inflated with a Pennzoil product, Fix-A-Flat, which had been marketed with flammable and explosive ingredients. The matter was ultimately settled.
Field Turf v. Polyloom. We represented Polyloom, a division of Royal Ten Cate, a Netherlands company, in defending against a third-party products liability claim brought by the distributor of artificial turf at a golf driving range. The matter was settled.
Defamation defense
S.L. Benfica Transportation, Inc. v. Cablevision Systems Corp. Our firm successfully obtained dismissal of a defamation action against Cablevision and two of its affiliates by a company that claimed it was slandered by a news report that was broadcast by News 12 The Bronx concerning a government investigation into allegations that a number of bus and truck drivers had fraudulently obtained their licenses in connection with work in New York City by paying to obtain the correct answers on commercial driver's license examinations. As a visual backdrop to the report, News 12 aired generic and unrelated file footage of trucks and buses on Bronx streets, one of which was identified as belonging to the plaintiff.
Municipal Law
Trustees of the Freeholders and Commonalty of the Town of Southampton v. Incorporated Village of West Hampton Dunes. We represented Southampton and the Town Colonial Patent Trustees in an action in the Supreme Court, Suffolk County, against the Incorporated Village of Westhampton Dunes, its mayor and approximately 25 of its residents. The action is for declaratory and injunctive relief with respect to lands that were created when millions of tons of sand were deposited in Moriches Bay during two severe "Nor'easter" storms of December 1992 and March 1993, thereby extending the high water mark of Moriches Bay hundreds of feet to the north. The action is still pending.
Merscorp. v. Edward P. Romaine and the County of Suffolk. We represented the county clerk of Suffolk County and the county in defense of an action for declaratory and injunctive relief instituted by Merscorp.—a privately funded electronic recording system which was formed by the title insurance industry, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to substitute a private, restricted access electronic recording system for public recording statutes which have been in existence in New York State for more than 200 years. The Supreme Court in Suffolk County dismissed the case insofar as it sought to direct the county clerk to record discharge or satisfaction instruments executed by Merscorp rather than by the owner of the mortgage instrument, on the ground that landowners and the public were entitled to know the identities of the true owners of mortgages upon their property. The matter was litigated all the way to the New York Court of Appeals, which by a divided court, compelled the county to record the mortgage but reserved the question of their validity for another day.
Federal Grand Jury Subpoena. The firm represented the officials of a Long Island town in connection with a criminal investigation being conducted by the U.S. Attorney's Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. We investigated the facts, consulted with the witnesses and made all documents and witnesses available to the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office. Within 11 months, the U.S. Attorney's office announced that the investigation had been closed without any criminal prosecutions.
Gaugler v. Town of East Hampton. The firm successfully defended the Town of East Hampton and a number of its present and former police officers in a federal civil rights action claiming that the plaintiff's home was searched without a valid search warrant; that the police officers invited the media to the plaintiff's property to photograph the search; and that the Town's seizure of a number of plaintiff's firearms violated the plaintiff's asserted Second Amendment rights. The Town's motion for summary judgment was granted and the case dismissed.
Sound Aircraft Services v. Town of East Hampton. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that the motives of town board members in awarding an airport hangar lease to one of two competing fixed base operators at the East Hampton Airport were irrelevant in considering whether they were personally immune from suit. The firm represented the officials in this case.
Town of Southold v. Town of East Hampton and Francarl Realty Corp. v. Town of East Hampton. The Towns of Southold and Shelter Island, Cross Sound Ferry Company and Francarl, an existing ferry operator, brought federal actions against East Hampton seeking to invalidate East Hampton’s Ferry Law, which bars vehicle and ferry terminals and access to terminals within the town to any vessel which is capable of developing more than 2,000 hp or traveling at a speed in excess of 20 knots. Defending East Hampton, we moved to dismiss both actions on a variety of grounds. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the dismissal of all claims except a dormant commerce clause claim and remanded both matters to the District Court for discovery and further proceedings. One case was withdrawn and the other case was dismissed after a trial in the District Court and is presently on appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
From offices located in Huntington New York, Cahn & Cahn LLP proudly serves clients throughout Nassau County, Suffolk County and the five boroughs, including Riverhead, Central Islip, Huntington, Nassau, Plainview, Meadow, Mineola, North Shore, Hempstead, Oyster Bay, Port Washington, the Gold Coast, Smithtown, Riverhead, Garden City, the Hamptons and New York City.
