Cullen and Dykman Secures Precedent-Setting Appellate Victory Under New York’s Heirs Property Act

Cullen and Dykman attorneys Andrew P. Nitkewicz and Brittany L. Froning secured a significant appellate victory in Flouret v. Sagland, LLC, a case of first impression concerning the scope of New York’s Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act, RPAPL 993.

The Appellate Division, Second Department held that real property owned entirely by a trust and a limited liability company cannot qualify as “heirs property” under the statute. The court reversed an order of the Supreme Court, Suffolk County, that had denied the plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment based on its determination that the property was heirs property.

Although the trust and LLC were managed by relatives of the property’s former individual owners, the Second Department concluded that trusts and limited liability companies are not “individuals” or “relatives” within the meaning of RPAPL 993.

The decision resolves a previously unanswered question under the New York statute. In reaching its determination, the Second Department rejected the approach taken by a federal court applying Florida’s substantially similar heirs property law and agreed with the reasoning of a California trial court that concluded entity ownership does not satisfy the statute’s family-relationship requirements.

The ruling provides important guidance concerning partition actions involving property held through trusts, LLCs and other legal entities. It also demonstrates that the form in which property is owned may affect whether the procedures and protections of RPAPL 993 apply.

The matter has been remitted to the Supreme Court, Suffolk County, for a determination of whether a physical partition of the property would result in great prejudice to the owners.

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