After Beachfront Suit Settled, Mattituck Couple Sues Southold Town

Shortly after a New York State Supreme Court jury ruled a Mattituck couple has sued the Town of Southold and its supervisor, Scott Russell, for reportedly removing a boulder the couple say was located on their property.

According to a report in The Suffolk Times, Christine and Richard Rivera are suing for $1 million in damages, claiming the boulder "which constituted a valuable improvement" to their property was taken.

The couple had sued their neighbor, Paul Calabro, charging that he trespassed onto their beachfront property on Sound Shore Road twice, in 2008 and 2009.

Christine Rivera said in a phone interview on Saturday that Russell "left me no choice" but to sue. She said that on Nov. 29, she came home to find the boulder, placed on her property in 1997, had been removed. The supervisor told her he directed the public works department, said Rivera, adding that if she didn't like the decision, she could sue.

After the six-person jury ruled in Calabro's favor on Dec. 9, Rivera had said, "it doesn't change the fact that if someone does trespass on our property, we will handle the matter accordingly."

Read the entire report on The Suffolk Times here.