The federal district court for the Eastern District of New York granted judgment as a matter of the law to the Town of East Hampton, reversing a jury verdict that found the Town liable to the owners of beachfront homes next to two jetties that allegedly caused the plaintiffs’ beaches to erode. The court held that the requirements for intentional private nuisance were not met; that the requirements for negligent private nuisance could not be satisfied because the Town did not have control over the jetties and therefore had no duty to prevent the jetties from damaging or interfering with the plaintiffs’ properties; and that the Town could not be liable for trespass because it had not acted intentionally and willfully or negligently. The court said, alternatively, that it would grant the Town’s motion for a new trial.

Lawsuit by property owners seeking to hold Town of East Hampton liable for shoreline erosion.

Cangemi v. Town of East Hampton

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New York Federal Court Reversed Jury Verdict Against Town of East Hampton for Causing Shoreline Erosion

Filed

United States of America

New York

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