Amcast Industrial Corp. v. Detrex Corp.

138 F.R.D. 115, 1991 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9828, 1991 WL 130541
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Indiana
DecidedJuly 15, 1991
DocketNo. S88-620 (RLM)
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 138 F.R.D. 115 (Amcast Industrial Corp. v. Detrex Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Amcast Industrial Corp. v. Detrex Corp., 138 F.R.D. 115, 1991 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9828, 1991 WL 130541 (N.D. Ind. 1991).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

ROBIN D. PIERCE, United States Magistrate.

This case is before the court on a motion to compel discovery filed by plaintiffs, Am-cast Industrial Corporation (“Amcast”) and Elkhart Products Corporation (“EPC”), and a motion for protective order in response thereto filed by defendant Detrex Corporation (“Detrex”). The plaintiffs’ motion seeks an order compelling Detrex to produce: 1) any facts relating to this action that are contained in a memorandum from Stan Miles dated June 21, 1989; 2) writings relating to any settlement of any claims that Detrex improperly handled hazardous substances; 3) documents relating to other clean-ups involving Detrex; and 4) documents relating to the system for reporting releases of hazardous substances.

Background

After it purchased all of the shares in EPC, what is now Amcast learned that the soil and groundwater under EPC’s plant in Elkhart, Indiana was polluted with trichlo-roethylene (“TCE”), an industrial solvent which EPC had used for several years in manufacturing copper pipe fittings. On October 13, 1988, Amcast and EPC filed the present action against a number of defendants, including Detrex, seeking the recovery of damages to real property, together with the past and future costs resulting from the pollution. As against De-trex, in particular, the complaint presents the following general allegations:

[117]*117Pursuant to an agreement between EPC and Detrex, from January 1, 1978, until September 22, 1986, Detrex sold and delivered at least 33 truck loads of liquid TCE to the Plant. These, truck loads ranged in size from 1,000 gallons to 3,300 gallons. These 33 truck loads were delivered to the Plant by the Doe Defendants. Each of these truck loads was unloaded by a Detrex truck driver (a Doe Defendant) in the ordinary course of his duties on behalf of Detrex and without the supervision or assistance of EPC or any of its employees, utilizing equipment supplied by and belonging to Detrex, except that, occasionally, EPC employees would provide a hose to the Detrex truck driver (a Doe Defendant) when the hose carried on the Detrex truck could not be used. These truck loads of TCE were unloaded by the Detrex truck drivers (the Doe Defendants) into one or both of two above-ground TCE storage tanks maintained by EPC at the Plant (one of which was supplied by Detrex). (Plaintiffs’ Complaint, II10).
Each time a Detrex truck driver (a Doe Defendant) unloaded a load of TCE at the Plant, he negligently spilled some TCE out upon the ground of the Plant at or near the TCE storage tanks maintained by EPC. Most of these spills involved approximately 2 — 5 gallons of TCE. The following two spills involved greater quantities: (a) in late June of 1980, while filling one of the TCE storage tanks at the Plant, a Detrex truck driver (a Doe Defendant) negligently over-filled the tank, causing approximately 200 to 300 gallons of TCE to flow out of the vent of the tank and onto the ground, where it destroyed approximately 138 square yards of asphalt; (b) on one occasion, after the over-fill incident, a Detrex truck driver (a Doe Defendant) failed to properly level his truck when preparing to fill the TCE storage tank at the Plant, leaving approximately 50 gallons of TCE in the tanker after the De-trex driver completed the delivery of the TCE to the Plant. After finishing his delivery, the driver pulled away without closing the valve on the tanker of his truck, negligently causing a 2" stream of TCE from the tanker to be discharged from the truck as it left the area of the Plant where the TCE storage tanks are located, proceeded north on the back drive of the Plant, east to Oak Street, and on north to Bristol Street. The TCE discharge stopped at Bristol Street. (Plaintiffs’ Complaint, ¶ 11).
As a direct and proximate result of the TCE spills described in the preceding paragraph, TCE has entered the soil and groundwater underlying the Plant, and may be migrated to the groundwater underlying the Miles Laboratories facility located directly across from the Plant. (Plaintiffs’ Complaint, ¶ 12).
TCE is a ‘hazardous substance’ as that term is defined in § 101(14) of the Superfund Act, 42 U.S.C. § 9601(14), a mutagen, and a suspected carcinogen. Human exposure to TCE may cause skin and eye irritation, headaches, heart disease, and liver damage. (Plaintiffs’ Complaint, II13).
Each Detrex truck from which TCE was spilled as described in this Complaint was a ‘facility’ of which Detrex was the ‘owner’ and the Doe Defendants were the ‘operators’ as those terms are defined in Sections 101(9) and (20)(A) of the Superfund Act 42 U.S.C. § 9601(9) and (20)(A). Each such spill was a ‘release’ of ‘hazardous substances’ into the ‘environment,’ as those terms are defined in Sections 101(22), (14) and (8) of the Superfund Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 9601(22), (14) and (8), as well as the ‘disposal of hazardous substances at a facility’ within the meaning of Section 107(a) of the Superfund Act, 42 U.S.C. § 9607(a). (Plaintiffs’ Complaint, 1114).
The course of dealings between EPC and Detrex as described in paragraphs 10 through 12, supra, constitutes an arrangement by Detrex with EPC for the disposal of hazardous substances owned or possessed by Detrex at the Plant for purposes of Section 107(a) of the Superfund Act, 42 U.S.C. § 9607(a). (Plaintiffs’ Complaint, ¶ 15).

The complaint sets forth a number of theories of liability on the part of Detrex, including: strict liability under Section [118]*118107(a) of the Superfund Act, 42 U.S.C. § 9607(a); common law strict liability in tort for damages resulting from Detrex’s conduct of ultra-hazardous activity with respect to the manufacture, sale and delivery of the TCE; breach of an implied provision of the agreement between Detrex and EPC for the sale and delivery of TCE, which provision would have called for Detrex to deliver the TCE without spillage and without causing any environmental hazards; vicarious liability on the part of Detrex for its drivers’ negligence, their trespass upon EPC’s land, and their creation of a nuisance; and Detrex’s negligence in hiring and training its drivers.

General Discovery Standards

The plaintiffs’ document requests under Rule 34 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

BUTLER v. FLOYD
W.D. Pennsylvania, 2025
BRAMHALL v. DELSANDRO
W.D. Pennsylvania, 2024
BREWER v. SMITH
W.D. Pennsylvania, 2024
Owens v. ACS Hotels, L.L.C.
2016 Ohio 5506 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2016)
Harcum v. Leblanc
268 F.R.D. 207 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 2010)
United Oil Co. v. Parts Associates, Inc.
227 F.R.D. 404 (D. Maryland, 2005)
McPherson v. Goodyear Tire Rubber Co.
766 N.E.2d 1015 (Ohio Court of Appeals, 2001)
Alexander v. Federal Bureau of Investigation
194 F.R.D. 316 (District of Columbia, 2000)
Williams v. City of Dallas
178 F.R.D. 103 (N.D. Texas, 1998)
In re Aircrash Disaster Near Roselawn, Indiana
172 F.R.D. 295 (N.D. Illinois, 1997)
Momah v. Albert Einstein Medical Center
164 F.R.D. 412 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 1996)
Corrigan v. Methodist Hospital
158 F.R.D. 54 (E.D. Pennsylvania, 1994)
Smith v. Logansport Community School Corp.
139 F.R.D. 637 (N.D. Indiana, 1991)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
138 F.R.D. 115, 1991 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9828, 1991 WL 130541, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/amcast-industrial-corp-v-detrex-corp-innd-1991.