Bennett v. Milford Water Co.

30 Mass. L. Rptr. 466
CourtMassachusetts Superior Court
DecidedOctober 1, 2012
DocketNo. WOCV200902166
StatusPublished

This text of 30 Mass. L. Rptr. 466 (Bennett v. Milford Water Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Superior Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bennett v. Milford Water Co., 30 Mass. L. Rptr. 466 (Mass. Ct. App. 2012).

Opinion

Ferrara, John S., J.

I. Introduction

The plaintiffs, all Milford residents, brought this putative class action against the Milford Water Company, which owns and operates the public water system for Milford and surrounding communities, due to a water contamination incident in August of 2009. In what remains of their amended complaint, the plaintiffs allege negligence (Count I), gross negligence (Count II), breach of contract (Count III), breach of common-law warranties (Count VIII), and violation of G.L.c. 93A, §§2, 9 (Count IX).2

Before the Court are the plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment on their claims for breach of contract, breach of common-law warranties, and violation of G.L.c. 93A, and the defendant’s motion for summary judgment on all counts of the plaintiffs’ amended com[467]*467plaint. Both parties have also moved to strike certain materials submitted by the other side, and the plaintiff has moved for a continuance and for a default judgment against the defendant. For the following reasons, the motions are allowed in part and denied in part.

II. Background

The summary judgment record discloses the following undisputed facts, with some details being reserved for the legal analysis.

Pursuant to a water service tariff filed with the Department of Public Utilities (DPU), the defendant, as a private and for-profit corporation, sells water to approximately 9,000 Milford residents. The defendant uses filtration and disinfection processes to treat the water entering its distribution system from its supply source, Echo Lake, a 288-acre lake accessible by humans and animals. The defendant owns and operates water storage tanks in Milford on Congress Street, Highland Street, and Bear Hill. The Congress Street water storage tank was placed into service in 1925, and as of August 2009, it had a capacity of approximate one million gallons. Milford Water Company had failed to clean and annually inspect the three water tanks as required by the Department of Environmental Protection. A complete inspection of the Congress Street storage tank had not been completed for at least fifteen years prior to August 1, 2009.

On Saturday, August 8, 2009, the defendant notified the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) that two routine water samples collected on August 5th were confirmed positive for total coliform and one sample was positive for E. coli, and that all six repeat samples collected on August 7th were presumed to be positive for total coliform. Pursuant to 310 Code Mass.Regs. §22.05(8) (b) in effect at that time, this constituted a violation of the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for total coliform. At approximately 9 p.m. on August 8th, the DEP verbally ordered a “boil water order’’ to be in place for the entire town of Milford until one round of special water samples was found to be bacteria-free.

The same night, the defendant’s manager, Henry Papuga, ordered an increase of the chlorination of the water. Papuga also notified town officials, via voicemail messages on their telephones, of the test results and the boil water order.

The Town began notifying residents of the boil water order that weekend. On Monday, August 10th, the DEP informed Papuga in writing that it had determined that the water “could pose an unacceptable risk to public health’’ and that the boil water order would be in effect until terminated by the DEP in writing.3 The boil water order directed consumers either to boil their tap water for at least one minute before consuming it or to consume water from an alternative source approved by the DEP until further notice. Hie DEP ordered the defendant to notify the public and local officials of the contamination and the boil order, to implement an emergency response plan, to provide additional disinfection, to conduct repeat monitoring for total coliform, and to submit an emergency response report as well as an updated water distribution map and staffing plan. Despite these circumstances, on August 10, 2009, at a Milford Board of Selectmen’s meeting aired on local cable television, Papuga stated that “the water as of right now is absolutely fine” and “all of our tests have come back that the water is absolutely perfect to drink . . .”

On August 12th and August 13th, the water test results still showed contaminated water. On August 19th, the boil water order was lifted for most of Milford’s residents, except for some near the Hopkinton border, where water samples still showed the presence of coliform. The boil water order there was lifted on August 21, 2009. The defendant paid for bottled water to be made available to Milford residents while the boil water order was in effect.

Some or all of the plaintiffs suffered from diarrhea and stomach cramps during and after the week of August 5, 2009, as well as economic losses which they allege were caused by the water contamination incident.

The source of the bacterial contamination remains in dispute. The plaintiffs have presented evidence that holes in the roof of the Congress Street water tank, and the defendant’s failure to clean, inspect and maintain that tank for an extended period, in violation of applicable regulations, likely caused the contamination. The defendant’s experts have opined that the contamination source was water from Echo Lake.

The DEP commenced an enforcement action against the defendant. On November 13, 2009, the DEP issued an Administrative Consent Order which required the defendant to submit a series of reports, plans and related materials to show compliance with applicable standards. Pursuant to the Consent Order, the defendant: (1) did not admit or deny facts or allegations, (2) agreed not to contest those facts or allegations “for purposes of the issuance or enforcement of the Consent Order,” and (3) waived judicial review of the Consent Order.

Two other administrative proceedings before the DPU (DPU Nos. 09-70 and 10-78)4 culminated in settlements between the Town of Milford and the defendant.

III. Status of Class Certification

A preliminary issue raised in the defendant’s cross motion for summary judgment is whether the plaintiffs have been certified as a class and, as the defendant contends, whether a ruling on the plaintiffs’ summary judgment motion as to all members of the putative class would be premature.

“Although our Rule 23 . . . does not provide for a motion to certify that an action may proceed as a class action, such motions are often necessary and desirable for the efficient handling of class actions.” Carpenter v. Suffolk Franklin Savings Bank, 370 Mass. 314, 317 (1976). The Court has discretion to make preliminary rulings on class action issues. Id. The [468]*468Court need not conduct an evidentiary hearing. See Weld v. Glaxo Wellcome, Inc., 434 Mass. 81, 85 (2001).

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Bluebook (online)
30 Mass. L. Rptr. 466, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bennett-v-milford-water-co-masssuperct-2012.