FAILURE TO JOIN A NECESSARY PARTY JUSTIFIED DISMISSAL AFTER THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS HAS RUN (FIRST DEPT).
The First Department determined dismissal of the Article 78 proceeding, rather than joinder of the condominium board as a necessary party, was the proper remedy. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection had denied petitioner’s request to order removal of backflow prevention devices installed in the condominium unit:
Petitioner’s failure to join as a party the condominium board, which installed the backflow prevention device in dispute, constitutes a failure to join a necessary party (see Matter of Ferrando v New York City Bd. of Stds. & Appeals, 12 AD3d 287, 288 [1st Dept 2004]). Since the applicable statutory period has expired and the condominium board can no longer be joined, and proceeding in its absence would potentially be highly prejudicial to it, the proper remedy is dismissal of the proceeding rather than joinder of the condominium board (id.; see also CPLR 1001, 1003). Matter of Stephen & Mark 53 Assoc. LLC v New York City Dept. of Envtl. Protection, 2019 NY Slip Op 00072 [168 AD3d 440], First Dept 1-8-19