SUIT OVER CLIFTON PARK DRIVEWAY REJECTED BY JUDGE.(Local)

A state Supreme Court justice has dismissed a lawsuit by a town resident that a land auction was improperly handled by the town late last year.

Maurice Lane resident Richard Sheridan had sought to overturn an October 1989 sale of town-owned land off Maurice Lane that he had been using as a driveway for several years on the grounds that the auction winner, Michael Caschiera, could not immediately come up with the required 10 percent of the $9,500 purchase price. Caschiera owns a parcel of land off Maurice Lane that would be landlocked without the purchase of the town- owned property.

Sheridan appeared before the town board last year, expressing fears that if the parcel were sold to someone else, he would be forced to move his driveway. Although the town board had agreed to give Sheridan an easement allowing him use of the longtime driveway access as part of the sale, Sheridan still wanted to buy the town-owned parcel, said Town Attorney Kevin Luibrand.

According to Luibrand, Caschiera first attempted to pay for the parcel with a personal check, which was rejected. Caschiera was given 15 minutes to come up with a certified check. "He used only eight," said Luibrand.

In a Dec. 26 decision, Supreme Court Justice Dominick J. Viscardi dismissed Sheridan's case, ruling that he failed to prove that the action of the Town Board in the bid process was arbitrary and capricious.

"Clearly in any bidding process which requires a deposit ... the successful bidder would of necessity be afforded some reasonable time to comply with the requirement," ruled Viscardi.