Matter of Atlantic States Legal Found., Inc. v. New York State Dept. of Envtl. Conservation

In Matter of Atlantic States Legal Found., Inc. v. New York State Dept. of Envtl. Conservation, 119 AD3d 1172 [3d Dept., 2014] the petitioner sought to challenge issuance of a Freshwater Wetlands permit issued by the Department of Environmental Conservation ("DEC"). A DEC regional director informed the petitioner's president that review of issuance of a Freshwater Wetlands permit was governed by the four month statute of limitation under CPLR 217, rather than the 30 day time limitation under Environmental Conservation Law 24-0705 (6). The Court found the shorter statute of limitations to be applicable, and affirmed dismissal of the petition. The Court made a point of mentioning that because petitioner's president was aware of the 30-day statute of limitations, "petitioner could not have reasonably relied on the alleged representation made by the DEC regional director, despite the longstanding working relationship between petitioner's president and the DEC regional director" (id., at 1174).