This decision involved a “long-running” dispute between “adjoining property owners and neighbors owning land in fee on (a street in) Suffolk County, New York…on a body of water.” The plaintiffs, “for at least a decade” sought to “legalize a prior nonconforming marina use of their property, first by modifying certain substandard lots or plots comprising part of their property, and later, by seeking local municipal approval of construction of a floating dock to continue a preexisting marina, dock and shellfish use adjacent and appurtenant to their seasonal summer cottage business (approvals).” The defendants, “attorneys and neighbors immediately adjacent to and across the creek to plaintiffs, have in one form or fashion…opposed plaintiffs’ efforts before the Town Planning Board (Planning Board), Building Department (BD) and Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA).”

The plaintiffs had commenced the subject lawsuit against the defendants, seeking to “prevent further interference, opposition, or intrusion by defendants in their efforts to obtain…approvals to legalize and maintain” the subject nonconforming use. The court had previously granted part of a petition in a related proceeding, i.e., it held that the Planning Board had violated SEQRA, had “misclassified plaintiffs’ request for a letter of nonconforming use and ‘failed to take a hard look’ at the same” and the court had remanded the matter to the Planning Board for further proceedings.