Mining Company's Rights Violated by Town
New York's highest court recently ruled that a Cattaraugus County town board illegally prevented a local company from conducting mining operations The unanimous decision of the New York Court of Appeals, handed down on February 18, 2010 in Glacial Aggregates, LLC v Town of Yorkshire, reversed a 2008 ruling of an intermediate appellate court. Glacial Aggregates, LLC, of Hamburg, New York, was represented by Magavern Magavern Grimm LLP partners Edward "Ned" Perlman and James Magavern.
Glacial controls more than 300 acres in Town of Yorkshire, which it acquired for the purpose of mining sand and gravel. In 1999, Glacial obtained a mining permit from the state Department of Environmental Conservation, a process that cost more than $500,000. Glacial then began clearing timber, excavating test pits and monitoring water levels, as required by the DEC permit. In June 2001, before Glacial began commercial mining, the Town enacted a zoning ordinance that prohibited new mining operations. As Glacial took the final steps to begin commercial operations, the Town Board declared that Glacial was not permitted to do so, citing the Town's 2001 ordinance.
Glacial commenced suit, claiming that it had pre-existing, nonconforming use status and also claiming that it had acquired a constitutionally vested right to quarry its property. In 2007, a jury found for Glacial on both claims and awarded it damages in the amount of $190,000. The trial judge also awarded Glacial attorney's fees in excess of $60,000.
An appellate court overturned the jury verdict and award. Glacial then applied to the Court of Appeals to review the case, because of the constitutional question involved. The Court of Appeals agreed to hear the case, which it eventually decided in Glacial's favor. The court held that Glacial's expenditures and activities at the site clearly manifested an intent to use its land for mining, which pre-existed the Town's change in zoning. It was not necessary for Glacial to be actively engaged in commercial mining at the time the prohibition went into effect in order to establish its pre-existing, vested rights.
"The Court of Appeals decision is not only a victory for Glacial but for quarry owners, in general," said Perlman. "Companies that spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and years to acquire a DEC permit won't have to worry that the rug will be pulled from under them at the eleventh hour by changes in local zoning."