Slattery v. Strong’s Marine, LLC (2024)

Retention note (2026-10-18 review): the 10/17 reading of this opinion was not kept as a stored copy, and nycourts.gov now refuses automated requests, so it was not re-fetched. The summary below has not been re-checked against a retained copy and supports no New York module-12 field marked supported.

Decided: August 14, 2024. Full official opinion independently retrieved 2026-10-17.

Facts and issue

A marina auctioned a stored boat for unpaid charges, bought it as sole bidder and resold it. It had mailed lien-sale notice by certified and first-class mail without attempting personal service in the county where the lien arose. It argued that unanswered bills made a personal service attempt a waste of resources. The owner sought summary judgment on conversion liability.

Holding and reasoning

The Second Department reversed the denial of the owner’s motion. Under Lien Law 201, diligent efforts to find and personally serve the owner in the county were required before resorting to mailing. Unanswered bills did not establish diligence. The sale was therefore unauthorized and the owner established conversion liability (230 AD3d at 612–613). The opinion did not adjudicate an innocent downstream buyer’s title, invalidate every underlying charge, or prescribe damages for every marina dispute.

Practical impact

Certified plus first-class mailing is not a free election where the statutory personal-service condition applies. Preserve evidence of the required diligent attempt, not just postal receipts.

Historical fit and later treatment

Current Lien Law 201 retains the material personal-service/fallback structure and low-value exceptions. The full opinion in Cabrera, 2026 NY Slip Op 50178(U) cites Slattery in addressing a different return-receipt defect. That is actual later treatment, not complete appellate-history or citator clearance, which remains needs_verification.

Applies in →

new-york · marina-and-storage-lien-sales-of-vessels · vessels

Disclaimer. Legal information, not legal advice. This summarizes a decision that later authority may limit or distinguish. Read the full opinion and consult a licensed attorney.