The plaintiffs own a parcel of property in Richmond County, one side of which borders the Kill Van Kull waterway. That side of the property is protected by a revetment leading down into the Kill Van Kull. From approximately February 2000 through February 2002, under a contract with the United States Army Corps of Engineers to deepen the Kill Van Kull shipping channel, the defendant Weeks Marine, Inc. (hereinafter the appellant), performed blasting and dredging operations in the waters of the Kill Van Kull adjacent to the revetment which leads down into the water, and away from the plaintiffs’ property. It is undisputed that sometime before October 2001, the plaintiffs
In early to mid June 2003 the plaintiffs again complained about injury to their property, this time damage including that to an asphalt parking lot and surrounding area (hereinafter the parking lot damage). After an investigation, the defendant Contract Drilling and Blasting, Inc., a seismic consultant, concluded that the blasting “is unlikely to have caused” the conditions of which the plaintiff complained.
Subsequently, the plaintiffs engaged their own professional engineering consulting firm. After studying and investigating the matter, that consulting firm concluded that the parking lot damage was caused by the appellant’s improper blasting in 2001-2002 which led to an initial weakening of the revetment. In one of its reports, the consulting firm further opined that the damage “to the slope [of the revetment] progressed slowly and out of view.”
On June 9, 2006 the plaintiffs commenced this action by filing a summons with notice. Subsequently, a complaint was served, wherein the plaintiffs alleged that as a result of negligent, careless, or reckless excavations, dredging work and/or construction in the Kill Van Kull, the revetment was weakened and the combined action of waves, tides, and boat wakes on the now-weakened revetment eventually led to the damage to its building and surrounding areas. The appellant answered and subsequently served interrogatories, which were responded to by the plaintiffs. Thereafter, the appellant moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint insofar as asserted against it on the ground that the action was barred by the applicable statute of limitations. The Supreme Court, in effect, denied that branch of the appellant’s motion which was to dismiss, as time-barred, so much of the complaint as sought to recover damages for injury to property occurring subsequent to October 2001, i.e., the parking lot damage, insofar as asserted against it while, in effect, granting that branch of their motion which was to dismiss, as time-barred, so much of the complaint as sought to recover damages for injury to their building, about which they had complained to the appellant in October 2001.
The appellant established, prima facie, its entitlement to judg
The appellant’s remaining contentions are without merit. Skelos, J.P., Florio, Balkin and Leventhal, JJ., concur.
