Schieber obtains summary judgment
July 18, 2014 |Evan Schieber obtained summary judgment dismissing a third party action against his clients, Levine Sewell Associates, Lawrence Levine and Martin Levine in a multi-party action brought by Keyspan. In the action, Keyspan seeks damages from, among other parties 110 Hempstead Management LLC, (“Hempstead”) the current owner of certain real property located in Nassau County based on the claim that certain pipes affixed to the property were defectively installed and damaged Keyspan’s underground gas main.
In a third party complaint brought against Levine Sewell Associates, Hempstead sought to recover damage based on the claim that, as the former owner of the property, Lawrence and Martin Levine should be responsible for any damage under principles of common law indemnification. Hempstead also argued that the former owners, as principles of Par Plumbing, the company who installed the allegedly defective pipes, may be proper parties under a veil piercing claim. The former owners successfully argued that any claim against them was barred as a matter of law by the contract of sale, in which Levine Sewell Associates disclaimed all responsibility for the conditions complained of in the complaint.
In addition to dismissing the third party complaint against Levine Sewell Associates in its entirety, the Court also adopted the argument that Hempstead failed to establish sufficient evidence to pierce the corporate veil of Par Plumbing.
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