September 9, 2021

DSB obtained an Order awarding summary judgment in favor of an East End Town confirming its continued ownership of a disputed parcel of land.  Plaintiff filed the action in 2010, claiming that he had acquired a neighboring municipal lot through adverse possession based upon blocking a beach access road with shrubbery and using it as a private driveway for a number of years, arguing that the Town had abandoned or never properly opened the unnamed beach access road that had been at the location since at least 1940.  The Court previously declined to dismiss the action in 2017, finding that more discovery was needed, but after further proceedings and motion practice has now dismissed the case, explaining that while roadway easements on otherwise private property can be abandoned, it is well-established that government-owned land that is held for a public purpose cannot be adversely possessed.

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