Bob's Beverage, Inc. v. Acme, Inc., 1:97CV650.
Citation | 169 F.Supp.2d 695 |
Decision Date | 29 January 1999 |
Docket Number | No. 1:97CV650.,1:97CV650. |
Parties | BOB'S BEVERAGE, INC., et al., Plaintiffs, v. ACME, INC., et al., Defendants. |
Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Ohio |
Charles P. Royer, Frank J. Cumberland, Jr., Edda S. Post, Kaufman & Cumberland, David B. Webster, Webster & Webster, Cleveland, OH, for Plaintiffs.
David W. Herrington, Wegman, Hessler, & Vanderburg, Thomas M. Stickney, Collins & Scanlon, John Rogers Jewitt, Jr., Carter E. Strang, Arter & Hadden, Lee A. Chilcote, Jr., Hahn, Loeser & Parks, Carter E. Strang, Arter & Hadden, Cleveland, OH, for Defendants.
This matter is before the magistrate judge pursuant to consent of the parties. Plaintiffs commenced this action pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act ("CERCLA"). Before the court are the motion of plaintiffs, Bob's Beverage, Inc. ("Bob's Beverage") and Ullman Oil, Inc. ("Ullman Oil"), for summary judgment ("Pl.Mot.," Docket # 85), the motion of defendants Acme, Inc. ("Acme") and James D. Bares ("Bares") for summary judgment ("Def.Mot.," Docket # 102), and the motion of defendants Albatross, Ltd. ("Albatross"), Benjamin Merkel ("B.Merkel") and Henry H. Merkel ("H.Merkel") for summary judgment (Docket # 84). For the reasons set forth below, the court grants plaintiffs' motion in part and overrules it in part; grants the motion of defendants Acme and Bares in part and overrules it in part; and overrules the motion of defendants Albatross, B. Merkel, and H. Merkel.
In 1960 Cleo Gastemire sold to Ray and Nancy Hitchcox undeveloped farmland which is presently property at 9810 and 9812 East Washington Street, Chagrin Falls, Ohio. The Hitchcoxes established a store on the property at 9810 East Washington Street. That store, currently known as "The Hitchin' Post," is both a convenience store and service station. Deposition of Kim A. Ullman, Def.Mot., Defendants' Joint Appendix of Exhibits ("Def.App."), Exh. F, pp. 71, 93-94. The Hitchcoxes sold the 9810 East Washington Street property in 1972 to Marilyn Ullman. The property later came into the possession of Bob's Beverage, a corporation owned by members of the Ullman family. Id. at 21, 83-84.
In approximately 1973 the Hitchcoxes erected a building ("the building") on the 9812 East Washington Street property ("the site"). The Hitchcoxes leased space in the building to various tenants in the early 1970's. The record does not describe the activities in which these tenants engaged while at the site.
The Hitchcoxes installed a septic system for the building. The system as approved consisted of four-inch pipe which ran from a drinking fountain and toilet to two 1,000-gallon septic tanks in series and then to two 1,000-gallon dry wells in series. Application of John Blazek on behalf of Ray Hitchcox for a sewerage and well permit, Plaintiff's Revised Appendix Filed in Support of Motion for Summary Judgment ("Pl.App.") (Docket # 104), Exh. 1, p. 3. The system was designed to leach effluent which reached the dry wells into the surrounding soil. Deposition of Frank Szoka ("Szoka"), Def.App., Exh. H, pp. 16-17.
In 1974 Acme became a tenant in the building. Acme reconditioned automotive air conditioning equipment, and Bares was its president and sole owner. Plaintiff's First Request for Admissions Propounded to Defendant James D. Bares, Pl.App., Exh. 2, p. 3; Deposition of Bares, Def. App., Exh. K, p. 23, 24.
Acme altered the building when it became a tenant. The alterations included cutting drainage ditches into the concrete floor for moving chemicals, wash water, and other waste materials away from work areas. Affidavit of Paul C. Mason ("Mason"), Pl.App., Exh. 5, p. 4. According to William Burke ("Burke"), the technical director of operations for Acme at the site, the material that drained into the ditches was soapy water, harmless abrasive grit, and chemicals washed from parts taken from a caustic soda wash. Deposition of Burke, Def.App., Exh. O, pp. 27-28, 35, 37-38, 45-46. Bares admitted that the rinse water from Acme's operations was discharged into the septic system and that it had been used to...
To continue reading
Request your trial-
Litgo N.J. Inc. v. Comm'r N.J. Dep't of Envtl. Prot.
...court case asserting that “a person must affirmatively act to cause a release of hazardous waste to become an operator.” 169 F.Supp.2d 695, 721 (N.D.Ohio 1999). This requirement, as discussed above, is not found in CERCLA. Nor is it found in United States v. Township of Brighton, 153 F.3d 3......
-
Ohio Ex Rel. Dewine v. Breen
...that the act resulting in a release of a hazardous waste be intentional, knowing, or even negligent." Bob's Beverage, Inc. v. ACME, Inc. , 169 F.Supp.2d 695, 723 (N.D. Ohio 1999) (citation omitted). Likewise, in her affidavit, Janice Breen avers that she never: (i) had any substantive invol......
-
Bendure v. Xpert Auto, Inc.
...such corporation." N. Consultants, Inc. v. Stimel-Givens (May 14, 1985), 10th Dist. No. 83AP-851. See also Bob's Beverage, Inc. v. Acme, Inc. (N.D.Ohio 1999), 169 F.Supp.2d 695, 719, affirmed (C.A.6, 2001), 264 F.3d 692 ("[T]he dissolution of [a] corporation consequent to 'winding up' do[es......
-
Vill. of Camden v. Cargill, Inc.
...casesId. Later courts have affirmed this interpretation of the language in Ohio Rev. Code § 1701.88(C). Bob's Beverage, Inc. v. ACME, Inc., 169 F. Supp.2d 695, 719 (N.D. Ohio 1999); Bd. of Trustees of Plumbers, Pipe Fitters & Mech. Equip. Serv., Loc. Union No. 392 Pension Fund v. Bison Cons......