Amcast Indus. Corp. v. Detrex Corp.
| Decision Date | 09 April 1992 |
| Docket Number | No. S88-620 (RLM).,S88-620 (RLM). |
| Citation | 822 F. Supp. 545 |
| Parties | AMCAST INDUSTRIAL CORPORATION and Elkhart Products Corporation v. DETREX CORPORATION. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Indiana |
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D. Jeffrey Ireland, Armistead W. Gilliam, Jr., Ann Wightman, Dayton, OH, John J. Lorber, Robert J. Palmer, South Bend, IN, for plaintiffs.
Arthur G. Surguine, Jr., James J. Shea, Fort Wayne, IN, for defendant.
Following the order of November 18, 1991 granting in part and denying in part the parties' cross-summary judgment motions, the court continued the trial and afforded the plaintiffs, Amcast Industrial Corporation and Elkhart Products Corporation (collectively "Amcast"), until December 16 to move for partial summary judgment on the issue of damages. Amcast has filed its motion, and the briefing is now complete. The court assumes familiarity with the facts set forth in the November 18 order and with the procedural history of this case. 779 F.Supp. 1519.
The court acknowledges both parties' requests for oral argument on this motion, but declines to hold an oral argument in light of the court's heavy calendar between now and the scheduled trial and the court's familiarity with the case.
At the pretrial conference held on November 25, 1991, the plaintiffs indicated that they would dismiss their negligence and punitive damages claims without prejudice if this second motion for partial summary judgment is granted; if the motion is denied, these claims are scheduled for trial on May 11, 1992. In this motion, Amcast asks the court to grant summary judgment as to the liability of defendant Detrex Corporation ("Detrex") in Count II of the complaint pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 9607(a)(3), as to the amount of response costs Amcast is entitled to recover under Counts I and II of the complaint, and as to Detrex's liability for Amcast's future costs in responding to the trichloroethylene ("TCE") contamination at the Elkhart Products Corporation ("EPC") facility.
As a preliminary matter, on February 7, 1992, Detrex moved for leave to amend its answer to include a counterclaim under 42 U.S.C. § 9613. Trial is scheduled to commence on May 11, and the suit has been pending for four and a half years. Leave to amend is to be freely given when justice so requires, Fed.R.Civ.P. 15(a), but determination of the requirements of justice rest within the trial court's discretion. Campbell v. Ingersoll Milling Machine Co., 893 F.2d 925, 927 (7th Cir.), cert. denied 498 U.S. 844, 111 S.Ct. 127, 112 L.Ed.2d 95 (1990). Delay alone is not a sufficient basis for denial of a requested amendment, Feldman v. Allegheny Int'l, Inc., 850 F.2d 1217, 1225 (7th Cir. 1988), but a presumption against amendment grows with delay. Tamari v. Bache & Co. S.A.L., 838 F.2d 904, 908 (7th Cir.1988).
The burden to the judicial system can justify a denial of a motion to amend "even if the amendment would cause no hardship at all to the opposing party." Because substantive amendments shortly before trial serve to defeat the public's interest in speedy resolution of legal disputes, "a district court judge is entitled, in such circumstances, to refuse to allow a plaintiff's amendment."
Perrian v. O'Grady, 958 F.2d 192, 194 (7th Cir.1992) (citations omitted).
The motion to amend was made three months before trial, after years of discovery and the filing of serial summary judgment motions. As is discussed below, denial of the amendment will not prejudice Detrex's right to pursue its would-be counterclaim in a separate action. Accordingly, while amendment to these pleadings would jeopardize the trial date of a suit in its fifth year of pendency, the motion's denial will prejudice nobody.
For these reasons, the court now denies the motion to amend.
Amcast claims that it is entitled to summary judgment on Detrex's liability in Count II because the court has already found that Detrex arranged for the disposal of hazardous substances on the EPC site. In a cost recovery action under 42 U.S.C. § 9607(a)(4)(B), a private party must show that: (1) the defendant is a covered person under 42 U.S.C. § 9607(a); (2) there has been a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance from the defendant's facility; (3) the plaintiffs incurred response costs as a result of the release or threatened release; and (4) the plaintiffs' response costs were necessary and consistent with the national contingency plan ("NCP"). Dedham Water Co. v. Cumberland Farms Dairy, Inc., 889 F.2d 1146, 1150 (1st Cir.1989); B.F. Goodrich Co. v. Murtha, 754 F.Supp. 960, 963-64 (D.Conn.1991); Artesian Water Co. v. Government of New Castle County, 659 F.Supp. 1269, 1278-79 (D.Del.1987), affirmed, 851 F.2d 643 (3d Cir.1988). Amcast notes that CERCLA liability is strict. Dedham Water Co. v. Cumberland Farms Dairy, Inc., 889 F.2d at 1150; Amoco Oil Co. v. Borden, Inc., 889 F.2d 664, 670, n. 8 (5th Cir.1989); Rodenbeck v. Marathon Petroleum Co., 742 F.Supp. 1448, 1456 (N.D.Ind. 1990). The elements of a prima facie case are straightforward and several courts have found that liability may be resolved in a summary judgment motion. United States v. Bliss, 667 F.Supp. 1298, 1308-09 (E.D.Mo. 1987).
Amcast claims that each element of a prima facie case for Detrex's liability under 42 U.S.C. § 9607(a)(3) () has been established by the November 18, 1991 order. Detrex was found to have released hazardous substances into the environment, and Amcast was found to have incurred costs that were necessary and consistent with the NCP. Detrex cannot avail itself of the statutory defenses to liability: the environmental contamination did not result from an act of God, an act of war, or an act of a completely independent third party. The November 18 order found that Detrex's drivers or Detrex's contractor, Transport Services, were responsible for spills which occurred between 1978 and 1986; therefore, Detrex is a responsible party within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. § 9607(a)(3). Further, Detrex "disposed" of a hazardous waste when it spilled TCE at the EPC site. Amcast contends that the law of the case establishes the remaining elements of CERCLA liability. The November 18 order determined that Amcast incurred cleanup costs that were necessary and consistent with the NCP.
Detrex responds that Amcast's motion for summary judgment on Count II goes beyond the order of November 25. That order allowed the plaintiffs until December 16, 1991 to file a motion as to damages, but did not allow the plaintiffs to file another motion for summary judgment on liability. Therefore, Detrex asks the court to ignore the portion of the motion which requests summary judgment as to liability under Count II.
Amcast suggests that the motion for summary judgment on Count II is made in the interest of judicial economy, as it would tie up loose ends in this litigation and allow for the presentation of a complete record on appeal. Amcast also claims that a finding of Detrex's liability under Count II would not affect Detrex's liability for damages; whether Detrex is liable under Count I or II or both, it is jointly and severally liable for Amcast's response costs.
In the alternative, Detrex asks the court to reconsider the November 18 order and grant summary judgment in Detrex's favor on Count II. However, a motion for reconsideration should not be used to relitigate matters upon which the court has ruled. Evans, Inc. v. Tiffany & Co., 416 F.Supp. 224, 244 (N.D.Ill.1976). If the motion for reconsideration does not demonstrate manifest error of law or fact or present newly discovered evidence, it should be denied. Dresser Industries, Inc. v. Pyrrhus AG, 936 F.2d 921, 936 (7th Cir.1991). Detrex's arguments as to Count II do not demonstrate manifest error or present newly discovered evidence. Therefore, the court will not reconsider Detrex's motion for summary judgment as to Count II.
The court finds that, in light of the order of November 18, 1991, summary judgment should be granted in the plaintiffs' favor as to Count II, except as to any allegations related to an overfill spill.
Detrex argues that CERCLA liability may be several rather than joint and several, and that Detrex should be allowed to show either the divisibility of the harm or the degree of harm caused by Detrex. Detrex cites United States v. Hardage, 116 F.R.D. 460, 465-66 (W.D.Okla.1987), in which the court stated:
A careful review of the legislative history of CERCLA establishes Congress wished to avoid mandatory joint and several liability. The Court may impose joint and several liability where the harm is single and indivisible. However, defendants must be given the opportunity to demonstrate the divisibility of the harm and the degrees to which each defendant is responsible. This determination of liability turns on whether the harm caused ... is "divisible" or "indivisible." The Court notes that imposition of joint and several liability is permissive, but not mandatory. Congress intended issues of liability under CERCLA, including joint and several liability, to be determined under traditional and evolving principles of federal common law. The Court may also apportion damages according to "the degree of involvement by the parties in the generation, transportation, treatment, storage, or disposal of the hazardous wastes," and "the degree of care exercised by the parties with respect to the hazardous waste concerned." United States v. A & F Materials Co., 578 F.Supp. 1249, 1256 (S.D.Ill.1984).
(citation omitted).
Detrex suggests applying a case-by-case evaluation of the facts in order to determine whether to impose joint and several liability. State of Idaho v. Bunker Hill Co., 635 F.Supp. 665, 676 (D.Idaho 1986)....
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