City of Chicago v. Krisjon Construction Co.

617 N.E.2d 21, 246 Ill. App. 3d 950, 186 Ill. Dec. 782, 1993 Ill. App. LEXIS 34
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJanuary 20, 1993
Docket1-92-1429
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 617 N.E.2d 21 (City of Chicago v. Krisjon Construction Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Chicago v. Krisjon Construction Co., 617 N.E.2d 21, 246 Ill. App. 3d 950, 186 Ill. Dec. 782, 1993 Ill. App. LEXIS 34 (Ill. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

JUSTICE RIZZI

delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant, Krisjon Construction Company (Krisjon), appeals from an order granting summary judgment against it and in favor of plaintiff, the City of Chicago, and from a permanent injunction entered against it requiring it to stop accepting waste on its two sites and to remove all waste from both locations pursuant to section 11 — 4—1500 of the Environmental Protection and Control Ordinance (ordinance). (Chicago Municipal Code §11 — 4—1500 (1990).) We affirm.

The issues before this court for review are: (1) whether the trial court erred in granting plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment; and (2) whether the trial court erred when it issued a permanent injunction against defendant.

On June 27, 1990, plaintiff filed an action against A & W Cartage, K-Five Construction Corp., Lindahl Brothers, Inc., and MCC Contractors, Inc. (MCC). The complaint alleged that MCC was operating solid waste dump sites located at 915 South Kildare Avenue in Chicago, Illinois (Kildare site), and at 2600 West Taylor Street in Chicago, Illinois, in violation of section 11 — 4—1500 of the ordinance. (Chicago Municipal Code §11 — 4—1500 (1990).) Plaintiff alleged that A & W Cartage, K-Five Construction Co. and Lindahl Brothers, Inc., illegally delivered, abandoned and disposed of waste at the Kildare site. Plaintiff sought civil penalties and injunctive relief from MCC.

In September of 1990, MCC filed for bankruptcy. Krisjon then took over the operation of the Kildare site from MCC. At that time, Krisjon also operated another site located at 2100 South Kostner Avenue in Chicago, Illinois (Kostner site). Krisjon was substituted as defendant in this action by an order entered on September 12, 1990.

On November 20, 1990, plaintiff and defendant entered into an agreed order for the regulation of the Kildare site wherein plaintiff allowed defendant to screen and sell the dirt on site. Defendant, however, was required by the order to test the dirt for any hazardous substances and to provide copies of the test results to the Chicago Department of Consumer Services. -

On June 10, 1991, plaintiff filed its second amended complaint. Counts IV and XI of the complaint alleged that defendant was disposing of waste at the Kildare and Kostner sites without a permit, in violation of section 11 — 4—1500 of the ordinance. (Chicago Municipal Code §11 — 4—1500 (1990).) Plaintiff prayed for civil penalties and injunctive relief.

On November 14, 1991, plaintiff filed a motion for a preliminary injunction requesting that defendant’s operations at the Kildare and Kostner sites be enjoined on the basis that defendant was disposing of waste on the premises in question without a permit, in violation of section 11 — 4—1500 of the ordinance and because defendant was operating sites which constituted a public and private nuisance. (Chicago Municipal Code §11 — 4—1500 (1990).) After a hearing, the trial court denied plaintiff’s motion on the basis that plaintiff failed to establish that the material on the sites was waste within the meaning of the ordinance or that the operation of the sites constituted a private or public nuisance.

On December 4, 1991, defendant filed a motion for summary judgment on counts IV and XI of plaintiff’s second amended complaint. Defendant argued that it was not disposing of materials at its sites which constituted waste within the meaning of section 11— 4 — 1500 of the ordinance. (Chicago Municipal Code §11 — 4—1500 (1990).) On December 20, 1991, plaintiff filed a cross-motion for summary judgment on the same two counts requesting a ruling that the materials on the Kildare and Kostner sites were waste pursuant to section 11 — 4—1500 of the ordinance. Chicago Municipal Code §11-4-1500 (1990).

During the hearing on the parties’ motions for summary judgment, John Christopher, the president of Krisjon, testified by affidavit that defendant engaged in “[trucking, excavation [and] sewer work.” Christopher admitted that more than 60% of defendant’s income was derived from “tipping” fees of $10 to $80 collected from haulers as compensation for allowing them to dump debris at the Kostner and Kildare sites.

Defendant allowed haulers to dump broken concrete, rebar, asphalt and mixed dirt at the Kildare site. The material received at the Kildare site was spread over more than four acres on the site and remained in a pile which stood 25 feet to 30 feet high. Christopher described this material as “construction debris.” He further testified that defendant ran a “rock-crushing operation” at the Kildare site. Christopher stated in an affidavit that between September of 1990, when defendant assumed operation of the site, until the date of his affidavit, defendant crushed 51,000 tons of concrete and screened 8,000 loads of dirt. Christopher later admitted during a discovery deposition, however, that no such activity occurred between the time defendant assumed operation of the site and October 1, 1991, the date of the deposition.

Defendant received broken asphalt, sand, stone and clay at the Kostner site. The debris was piled 10 feet to 30 feet high and spread across more than 70,000 square feet. Christopher initially described the Kostner site as a “construction yard.” Christopher later admitted that defendant never processed any of the dumped materials at the site.

On January 10, 1992, the trial court conducted a hearing on both motions and later ruled in plaintiff’s favor. The trial court ruled that the construction debris on both the Kildare and Kostner sites was waste pursuant to section 11 — 4—1500 of the ordinance. (Chicago Municipal Code §11 — 4—1500 (1990).) The trial court entered summary judgment in favor of plaintiff on the grounds that “defendants accepted and stored construction debris at their sites without a permit in violation of section 11 — 4—1500 of the Municipal Code.” Chicago Municipal Code §11 — 4—1500 (1990).

On March 20, 1992, the trial court conducted a hearing concerning the appropriate remedy to be imposed upon defendant. Plaintiff presented the calculations of one of its environmental engineers as to the amount of time it would take to remove waste from the Kostner and Kildare sites. The engineer calculated that it would take from 6 to 25 months to remove all of the waste from the Kildare site, and between 1.6 and months to remove all of the waste from the Kostner site, depending upon the type and amount of equipment used to remove the materials. Defendant failed to offer any evidence as to the amount of time it would take to clear both sites.

On April 1, 1992, the trial court permanently enjoined defendant from receiving additional waste at either site and from processing any waste located on the Kildare site after 12 months from the date of the entry of the order. The trial court also ordered defendant to remove all debris from the Kildare site within 30 months and from the Kostner site within six months. The trial court stayed enforcement of this order pending an appeal. This appeal followed.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
617 N.E.2d 21, 246 Ill. App. 3d 950, 186 Ill. Dec. 782, 1993 Ill. App. LEXIS 34, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-chicago-v-krisjon-construction-co-illappct-1993.