41 N.Y.2d 900 (1977)

When the state appropriates property without explicitly reserving the property owner’s legal right of access to a public highway, the property owner is entitled to compensation for the loss of that access, even if the state provides permissive, but not legally guaranteed, alternative access.

Summary

This case concerns two property owners, Poliak and a related claimant, whose properties were appropriated by the State of New York. The central issue revolves around the State’s failure to reserve the property owners’ legal right of access to the public highway during the appropriation. While the State allowed the claimants to use a service road on other State-held property for access, this was a permissive arrangement, not a guaranteed legal right. The Court of Appeals held that the deprivation of the legal right of access rendered the properties unmarketable, entitling the claimants to compensation. Additionally, in Poliak’s case, the court addressed the issue of a reduced railroad siding, finding sufficient evidence to support the lower courts’ determination that it negatively impacted the property’s suitability for its prior use.

Facts

• The State appropriated portions of the claimants’ properties.
• The appropriation did not explicitly reserve the property owners’ legal right of access to the public highway.
• The State allowed claimants to use a service road on other State-held property, offering practical access to the highway.
• The service road access was permissive and not a guaranteed legal right.
• In Poliak’s case, the length of the railroad siding was reduced due to the appropriation.

Procedural History

• The claimants sought compensation for the appropriation, arguing the loss of the legal right of access diminished their property value.
• The lower courts ruled in favor of the claimants.
• The State appealed to the Court of Appeals of New York.

Issue(s)

1. Whether the State’s appropriation of property without reserving the legal right of access to a public highway entitles the property owner to compensation, even if permissive access is provided.
2. Whether sufficient evidence supported the lower courts’ finding that the reduction in the length of the railroad siding rendered the Poliak property insufficient for its previous chemical operations.

Holding

1. Yes, because the deprivation of the legal right to access rendered the claimants’ titles unmarketable. The State’s permissive use of a service road did not constitute a permanent legal right.
2. Yes, because there was expert testimony, credited by both courts below, that the property was rendered insufficient to sustain the chemical operations previously conducted on the premises as a result of a reduction in the length of the railroad siding.

Court’s Reasoning

The Court of Appeals affirmed the lower courts’ decisions, emphasizing that the State’s failure to explicitly reserve the property owners’ legal right of access to the public highway constituted a compensable taking. The court distinguished between permissive access, which the State could revoke at any time, and a legal right of access, which is a permanent and valuable property interest. The court cited Kravec v State of New York, 40 NY2d 1060 and Wolfe v State of New York, 22 NY2d 292, reinforcing the principle that provisional expedients offered by the State do not cure the absence of an explicit reservation of a right to access in the original appropriation. The court stated, “That the State acquiesced in claimants’ use of a service road, on other State-held property, which led to the highway, afforded permissive and practical access but not a permanent legal right of access.” The court highlighted that the State was under no legal obligation to maintain the roadway. As for the Poliak property, the court deferred to the lower courts’ findings, supported by expert testimony, that the reduced railroad siding diminished the property’s utility for its intended purpose. The court noted, “The affirmed findings, in this respect, have a basis in the record and there our review must end.”