On October 24, 2023, the Court of Appeals issued a decision in Skaneateles Country Club v. Cambs, 2023 NY Slip Op. 05352, holding that unless provided otherwise, a license may be revoked by the licensor, explaining:
A license is a revocable privilege given ‘to one, without interest in the lands of another, to do one or more acts of a temporary nature upon such lands. Contrary to defendant’s contention, nothing in the parties’ agreement limits SCC’s right to terminate or otherwise evinces an intent to alter the general rule that licenses are revocable at will by the licensor. Although licenses may become irrevocable by the licensor in certain circumstances, we are not satisfied that any such circumstances are presented here.
(Internal quotations and citations omitted).
Judge Rivera filed a dissent in which Chief judge Wilson joined focusing, among other things, on a problem that is not uncommon: the Court of Appeals focusing on the issue as framed by the parties rather than on the legal reality of the situation. The parties both agreed that the agreement at issue was a license. So, the Court of Appeals decided the case on that basis. But, according to Judge Rivera, the agreement at issue was by its terms an assignment, not a license. Of course, if the parties want to take a certain position on the nature of their agreement, that is their business. But by accepting the parties’ description of their agreement, the Court of Appeals has made law that will be applied to licenses based on an agreement that perhaps was something else.