CAE-Link Corp. v. Washington Suburban Sanitary Com'n
| Decision Date | 01 September 1991 |
| Docket Number | CAE-LINK,No. 849,849 |
| Citation | 90 Md.App. 604,602 A.2d 239 |
| Parties | CORPORATION, et al., v. WASHINGTON SUBURBAN SANITARY COMMISSION. , |
| Court | Court of Special Appeals of Maryland |
Richard J. Magid and William F. Ryan (Whiteford, Taylor & Preston on the brief, Baltimore, of counsel: Nathan J. Greenbaum, Gen. Counsel, and Robert H. Drummer, Associate Gen. Counsel for WSSC on the brief), Hyattsville, for appellee.
Argued before GARRITY, BLOOM and CATHELL, JJ.
The Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC) commenced this declaratory judgment action eleven years On July 10, 1978, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued a comprehensive order, pursuant to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, which required WSSC to build and have operational by July 1, 1979, a sewage sludge composting facility in Montgomery County, Maryland. 2
ago against various specified property owners in the Montgomery Industrial Park (MIP), 1 as well as other persons claiming injury as a result of WSSC's taking of certain covenants running with the land. The MIP owners who are present parties to the case are CAE-Link Corporation, BancTec Systems, Inc., AT & T Resource Management Corporation, International Fabricare Institute, Erie Indemnity Company and the Washington Post Company. Additionally, John and Norma Robertson and Jerry and Barbara Robertson are also appellants. All of the appellants are represented by the same attorneys on appeal and all issues and arguments here raised by counsel are made on behalf of all appellants. Except [602 A.2d 241] when otherwise necessary, we shall refer to all of the owners as appellants
On April 25, 1980, the district court issued a second order compelling WSSC to move forward with the construction and operation of a sewage sludge composting facility to be Pursuant to the district court's order, WSSC filed a condemnation action in the Circuit Court for Montgomery County to obtain the land for the Site II composting project. WSSC condemned 115 acres in the MIP for the construction and operation of a sewage sludge composting facility. The land WSSC took by condemnation was burdened by certain restrictive covenants in favor of neighboring land owners in the MIP. Thus, WSSC initiated a declaratory judgment action to determine whether the beneficiaries of the covenants had to be compensated for the value of those property rights. The defendants answered WSSC's complaint and filed counterclaims for monetary damages alleging inverse condemnation, breach of covenant, nuisance, bad faith pursuant to Maryland Rule 1-341 and violation of 42 U.S.C. section 1983.
located at the specified site in the MIP, known as "Site II". On June 27, the district court issued a third order reiterating the directives set forth in its prior orders. In this order, the district court overrode and enjoined WSSC from complying with an injunction issued by the Circuit Court for Prince George's County which prohibited WSSC from expending any funds to build or operate Site II. The federal judge also ordered WSSC to proceed expeditiously to obtain the land, build, and operate the composting project. Finally, the judge enjoined all parties from taking any action which would frustrate or impede the execution of the order
On motion of the defendants, the trial court issued a ruling that the restrictive covenants owned by the defendants and extinguished by WSSC's condemnation were compensable property interests and denied WSSC's claim for declaratory relief. WSSC appealed to this Court, which affirmed the lower court's ruling. WSSC v. Frankel, 57 Md.App. 419, 470 A.2d 813 (1984). The Court of Appeals subsequently vacated and remanded the case for further proceedings in the circuit court. WSSC v. Frankel, 302 Md. 301, 487 A.2d 651 (1985).
WSSC moved for partial summary judgment. The trial court granted WSSC's motion as to the counterclaims that Trial by jury on the nuisance and inverse condemnation counts began on March 4, 1991. At the close of the counterclaimants' case-in-chief, WSSC moved for judgment on both counts. The trial court denied WSSC's motion as to inverse condemnation, but granted the motion on the nuisance count. At the conclusion of all the evidence, the jury found in favor of WSSC. 3 Counterclaimants' motion for new trial was denied and this appeal ensued.
alleged violation of § 1983, bad faith, and punitive damages. The court denied WSSC's motion as to the counterclaims for inverse condemnation and breach of covenants. As to the nuisance claim, the court granted partial summary judgment to the extent of requiring that the defendants prove that WSSC was negligent. The counterclaims for breach of covenant were nevertheless dismissed by stipulation of the parties that the covenants had been extinguished in July of 1980 as a result of the WSSC's condemnation of Site II
On appeal, Appellants present the following assignments of error:
I. The trial court committed reversible error in granting WSSC's Motion For Judgment on Appellants' claims for nuisance.
A. The trial court committed reversible error in ruling that proof of negligence was a prerequisite to recovery on Appellants' nuisance claim.
B. The trial court erred in equating the standard of proof necessary to establish a non-possessory taking with the standard of proof necessary to establish a nuisance.
II. The trial court committed reversible error in instructing the jury that, in determining the value of the restrictive covenants, they could consider whether III. The trial court committed reversible error in admitting evidence of unforeseeable "comparable" sales that occurred long after the date of taking.
WSSC's use of Site 2 substantially interfered with Appellants' use and enjoyment of their lands.
IV. The trial court committed reversible error in admitting prejudicial evidence that certain Appellants had knowledge when they purchased their lands that WSSC proposed to build a sludge facility.
V. The trial court's erroneous and inconsistent evidentiary rulings created jury confusion and warrant reversal.
A. WSSC's internal memoranda on the issue of the value of the restrictive covenants should have been admitted.
B. The trial court committed reversible error by allowing the jury to visit Site 2 at the close of all the evidence.
C. The trial court's double standard for admissibility of evidence "inside" and "outside" MIP prevented the jury from having an accurate picture of the effect of Site 2 on Appellants' properties.
D. The trial court's admission of hearsay appraisals was erroneous and prejudicial.
E. The trial court erred by admitting WSSC's "state-of-the-art" evidence.
F. The trial court erred in refusing to allow Appellants to cross-examine WSSC's expert fully with regard to his credibility.
Appellee cross appeals, raising three issues:
I. The trial court erred by permitting the jury to consider the inverse condemnation claims of those Appellants who purchased their land after the restrictive covenants were extinguished on July 8, 1980.
II. The trial court erred by refusing to strike the speculative valuation testimony of Appellants' expert witness, E.L. Dieudonne.
III. The trial court erred by refusing to grant WSSC's motion for judgment against AT & T on the ground that its inverse condemnation claim was barred by limitations.
JUDGMENT AS TO APPELLANTS' NUISANCE CLAIMS.
In granting judgment in favor of WSSC on the nuisance claims, the trial court said:
With respect to the nuisance claim, the motion to dismiss is granted for two reasons. The first reason being that right or wrong I have held that in this case, based upon the facts in this case, that in order to recover on a nuisance theory, the Plaintiffs have to show simple negligence in the construction and operation of the facility. There is no evidence that I can recall to support that theory.
Appellee argues that the principal issue on this appeal is whether, as a matter of law, it can be held strictly liable in nuisance for complying with the injunctive orders of a federal district court which specifically required it to build and operate a sewage sludge composting facility at a specified location near Appellants' properties. Appellee contends that federal law (Federal Water Pollution Control Act) preempts the state law of nuisance and an award of damages would constitute an "attack" on the orders of the district court. Appellants rebut Appellee's preemption argument, asserting that an award of damages, unlike injunctive relief, would not interfere with the operation of Site II and that a nuisance cannot be created with impunity pursuant to legislative or judicial authority.
A. PREEMPTION
The Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution, art. VI, cl. 2, requires that when compliance with The federal district court passed its order pursuant to 33 U.S.C. § 1251 et seq., the Federal Water Pollution Control Act or the Clean Water Act (1987). Section 1251(a)(5) provides that "it is the national policy that areawide waste treatment management planning processes be developed and implemented to assure adequate control of sources of pollutants in each State...." Section 1365(e), known as "the saving clause," provides that "[n]othing in this section shall restrict any right which any person (or class of persons) may have under any statute or common The paradigmatic decision in this area is International Paper Co. v. Ouellette, 479 U.S. 481, 107 S.Ct. 805, 93 L.Ed.2d 883 (1987). In Ouellette, Vermont landowners brought suit against an operator of a New York pulp and paper mill, under the Vermont common law of nuisance. The Supreme Court held that the Clean Water Act...
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