Allan B. Rappleyea

Mr. Rappleyea is a graduate of Our Lady of Lourdes High School, Canterbury School, Union College and Western New England College School of Law, cum laude, where he graduated seventh in a class of more than 200. While in law school he received numerous Law Week and American Jurisprudence Awards for academic excellence. 

Mr. Rappleyea is admitted to practice law in New York, Connecticut, the Federal District Court for the Southern District of New York and the United States Court of Appeals, 2nd Circuit. He is a member of the New York and Connecticut Bar Associations. He joined our firm in 1992.

Mr. Rappleyea's practice focuses primarily on estate/trust planning and administration, including elder law, estate litigation, commercial litigation, and real estate development and transfers. He has handled complex commercial, property and trust and estate disputes in state and federal court, as well as some of the more complex, larger real estate transactions in eastern Dutchess County.

Mr. Rappleyea is a director of the Bank of Millbrook and Millbrook Banks Systems, Inc. He served as a councilman for the Town of Washington for many years. He is a board member of Saint Francis Hospital and Our Lady of Lourdes High School. He also assisted in the creation of Hospice Foundation, Inc., where he was a board member; the Millbrook Educational Foundation, Inc. and numerous private charitable foundations.

Mr. Rappleyea has successfully handled various lawsuits, from inception through trial, with juries and without.  A sampling of his reported Court decisions show that:

In the field of estate litigation, he:

• Won numerous motions and the firm’s client ultimately prevailed on all relief sought.  In re Estate of Ehmer, 240 A.D.2d 668 (2d Dep’t 1997); In re Ehmer, 255 A.D.2d 581 (2d Dep’t 1998); In re Ehmer, 272 A.D.2d 540 (2d Dep’t 2000); In re Ehmer, 272 A.D.2d 542 (2d Dep’t 2000); and

• He established that the US Department of Veteran Affairs did not have standing to claim a larger share of a Veteran’s estate.  In re Estate of Lauer, 3 Misc. 3d 219 (2004).

 Regarding land planning, development and municipal law, Mr. Rappleyea:

• Represented a landowner who developed his land and won several cases filed by those challenging the approvals.  In re Dowd v. Planning Bd., 54 A.D.3d 340 (2d Dep’t 2008); In re Dowd v. Planning Bd., 54 A.D.3d 339 (2d Dep’t 2008);

• Represented a landowner and established that all approvals were proper.  Quaker Hill Civic Ass'n v. Johnson, 254 A.D.2d 422 (2d Dep’t 1998); and

• Established a landowner’s right, for one year, to sue a Town for road abandonment.   Dandomar v. Town of Pleasant Valley,  2011 NY Slip Op 4673 (2011).

Regarding construction, corporate and landowner disputes, Mr. Rappleyea:

• Won the case dismissing a builder’s claim for over $400,000.00, and established the builder owed the homeowner over $500,000 for overcharges.  Master-Built Constr. Co. v. Thorne, 22 A.D.3d 535 (2d Dep’t 2005);

• Won at trial, and on appeal, when a person sued a client claiming to own a part of the client’s land by adverse possession.  Robert v. Shaul, 62 A.D3d 1127 (3d Dep’t 2009)

• Won a corporate dispute where, although bylaws had not been formally amended, the substance of the bylaw change has been observed by the parties for many years.  Cannavino v. Davis, 289 A.D.2d 360 (2d Dep’t 2001).

• Successfully challenged the New York State Liquor Authority’s suspension of a client’s license and large fine, and established that no basis existed for SLA’s action.  Matter of McGillicuddy's Tap House, Ltd. v. New York State Liquor Authority, 57 A.D.3d 1052 (3d Dep’t 2008).

Within the last few months, Mr. Rappleyea won two significant jury verdicts.  The first, on behalf of a consumer client, established the client’s right to recover damages of over $100,000.00 for unfair business practices. The second, on behalf of a private employer, defeated an employee’s claim for damages for alleged overtime compensation.  This action involved hundreds of thousands in potential damages for which, we are proud to say, the firm’s client was found not responsible.

E-mail: abr@cgrlaw.com