In Bloomingdales, Inc. v. New York City Transit Authority , the New York City Transit Authority (NYCTA) had been repairing the electricity in the subway station near Bloomingdales ' department store (on Third Avenue in Manhattan), when the retailer noticed its lower level flooded whenever it rained "heavily."
While Bloomingdales suspected there was a problem with the storm drainpipe, an inspection revealed it had been "cut and that a concrete duct was bisecting the pipe" causing water to enter the building rather than flow to the sewer.
When Bloomingdales filed suit against the NYCTA claiming negligence, trespass, and nuisance, the New York County Supreme Court found each of store's claims "time-barred" -- meaning that the time within which those claims could be asserted had passed.
On appeal, the Appellate Division, First Department, noted "a claim involving an underground trespass was not barred by the three-year statute of limitations for injury to property" because the continuous obstruction to the drainpipe created "successive causes of action." Therefore, instead of treating the NYCTA 's severance of the drainpipe as a "single negligent act," the AD1 saw it as a "continuous interference" and thus allowed the case to proceed.
A lone dissenter -- Justice Sweeny -- believed Bloomingdales ' claims weren't timely since there wasn't an "encroachment" onto the store's property and, therefore, no lasting effects from the NYCTA 's severing of the drainpipe.
If this case reaches the Court of Appeals, will NYCTA be caught in its Bloomies?
To download a copy of the Appellate Division's decision, please use this link: Bloomingdales, Inc. v. New York City Transit Authority