Jean Cawley, et al. v Joseph Lambiase, Jr.
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Attorneys and Parties
Brief Summary
Real property boundary and title dispute involving ownership of a roughly 900-square-foot portion of a private road, Barns Lane, in an action under RPAPL article 15 [authorizing actions to quiet title to real property] and for declaratory relief.
The Supreme Court, Suffolk County, granted the plaintiffs summary judgment declaring that they owned the disputed parcel and dismissing the defendant's counterclaim to quiet title, and denied the defendant's request for summary judgment declaring that he owned the western portion of the disputed area up to the centerline of Barns Lane, subject to the easement rights of others.
The Appellate Division reversed those rulings, denied the plaintiffs' motion, granted that branch of the defendant's cross-motion, and directed entry of a declaration that the defendant owns the western portion of the disputed area up to the centerline of Barns Lane, subject to the easement rights of others.
The plaintiffs relied on a 1973 deed, but their own submissions showed that a 1960 deed had already conveyed the abutting portion of Barns Lane to the defendant's predecessor in interest, together with all right, title, and interest in the adjoining road. Under Real Property Law § 240(3) [requiring real property instruments to be construed according to the parties' intent gathered from the whole instrument], the plain language of the 1960 deed controlled, and absent contrary intent, ownership of the abutting private road extended to its centerline.
Background
The parties own neighboring properties near the northern end of Barns Lane, a private road about 30 feet wide that provides access southward to a public road. The plaintiffs own the property east of the disputed area, and the defendant owns the property west of it. The plaintiffs sued to quiet title and sought a declaration that they owned the disputed area in fee. The defendant answered and counterclaimed to quiet title, asserting that he owned the disputed area, at least to the centerline of Barns Lane. The key documents were competing chains of title: the plaintiffs relied on a 1973 deed purporting to convey the northern portion of Barns Lane, while the defendant relied on a 1960 deed conveying a parcel bounded along the westerly side of Barns Lane together with the grantor's right, title, and interest in the adjoining road, plus later deeds expressly continuing that centerline ownership language.
Lower Court Decision
The Supreme Court, Suffolk County, concluded that the plaintiffs had established ownership of the disputed area and therefore granted their motion for summary judgment declaring title in their favor and dismissing the defendant's quiet title counterclaim. It also denied the defendant's request for summary judgment declaring that he owned the western portion of the disputed area up to the centerline of Barns Lane, subject to easement rights held by others.
Appellate Division Reversal
The Appellate Division held that deed construction was a question of law and that the plaintiffs failed to make a prima facie showing of ownership. The court found that the 1960 deed had already conveyed the abutting portion of Barns Lane to the defendant's predecessor in interest, separate from the easement rights also granted over the road. Because a later deed cannot convey what had already been conveyed away, the 1973 deed on which the plaintiffs relied could not establish their title to that portion of Barns Lane. The court further held that the defendant's evidence showed that the original grantor still owned Barns Lane in 1960 and validly conveyed the adjoining road area, and that, absent contrary intent, the conveyed interest was presumed to extend to the centerline of the private road. The case was remitted for further proceedings on the remaining claims and entry of a judgment declaring the defendant's ownership of the western portion of the disputed area up to the centerline, subject to others' easement rights.
Legal Significance
The decision reinforces two New York real property principles: first, deeds are construed from their plain language and the parties' objective intent as expressed in the instrument; second, when a grantor conveys land abutting a road and also conveys the grantor's interest in the adjoining road, ownership is presumed to extend to the road's centerline unless the deed shows a contrary intent. It also underscores that a later deed in a separate chain of title cannot transfer an interest that had already been conveyed by an earlier deed.
In a quiet title dispute over land within or adjoining a private road, an earlier deed conveying both the lot and the grantor's interest in the adjoining roadway will defeat a later inconsistent conveyance, and the grantee's ownership will generally reach the road's centerline unless the deed clearly says otherwise.