Crown Property Development, Inc. v. Omega Oil Co.

681 N.E.2d 1343, 113 Ohio App. 3d 647, 1996 Ohio App. LEXIS 3583
CourtOhio Court of Appeals
DecidedAugust 26, 1996
DocketNo. CA96-01-002.
StatusPublished
Cited by47 cases

This text of 681 N.E.2d 1343 (Crown Property Development, Inc. v. Omega Oil Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Ohio Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Crown Property Development, Inc. v. Omega Oil Co., 681 N.E.2d 1343, 113 Ohio App. 3d 647, 1996 Ohio App. LEXIS 3583 (Ohio Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

William W. Young, Judge.

Plaintiff-appellant, Crown Property Development, Inc., appeals an order of the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas dismissing appellant’s breach of contract action against defendant-appellee, Omega Oil Company.

Appellant is an Ohio corporation formed in July 1990. Appellant’s shareholders, directors and officers include Robert Bagshaw and Donald L. Feinstein. Feinstein is also appellant’s president and an attorney. Appellee is a Delaware *650 corporation with its principal place of business in Dayton, Ohio. Appellee is a wholly owned subsidiary of Amoco Oil Company (“Amoco”). Bill Wilcox was appellee’s president until John Cooper Agent took Wilcox’s position on October 1, 1990.

On June 2, 1989, Bagshaw and Feinstein entered into a real estate purchase contract with appellee to buy a tract of approximately five acres of land in Jefferson Township, Fayette County, Ohio (the “property”). The contract states in relevant part that the contract “shall be performed and this transaction closed within 30 days after contingencies are met or released unless the parties agree in writing to an extension.” Exhibit C, which was attached to and incorporated in the contract by reference, states:

“[The undersigned Buyer agrees to buy, and the undersigned Seller agrees to sell on the following terms:]

U * * *
“B. Contingent upon Buyer acquiring financing acceptable to Buyer within ninety (90) days after acceptance of this offer.
“C. Buyer has right to assign this contract to any partnership or corporation of which Buyer is a party.
“D. Seller to remove any buried tanks from Omega Station and provide certificates from an engineering company showing that samples taken from the ground surrounding the tanks or the prior tank locations comply with current E.P.A. regulations.”

A first amendment to the contract (dated August 29, 1989) and a second amendment (dated October 25,1989) extended the contract’s financing contingency to November 1, 1989 and May 1, 1990, respectively. Sometime prior to November 8, 1989, and following the removal of the buried tanks, it was discovered that the property had been contaminated by leaking tanks. On April 27, 1990, Wilcox wrote a letter to Feinstein which states:

“As you know, we have discovered significant environmental contamination on this site. The Ohio Bureau of Underground Storage Regulation is working with us and has approved an interim remediation plan involving on site pumping wells which will be totally underground and connected by underground piping to a location on our adjoining site. The water will then be monitored and placed into the public sewer system. We are also doing further soil borings and will remove contaminated soil and treat it as necessary.
U * * *
“We understand your concern regarding how prospective lenders or buyers might view this property due to the ongoing remediation. However, there is *651 simply nothing we can do to eliminate the need for the ongoing remediation. If this is unacceptable to you, you may withdraw from the contract.”

Thereafter, on May 1,1990, the parties entered into a third amendment to the contract. The third amendment not only extended the financing contingency to October 12, 1990, it also deleted paragraph D of Exhibit C of the contract and replaced it with the following provision:

“Seller has removed all buried tanks from the closed Omega station on the property and shall comply with the interim and final remediation plans approved by the Ohio Bureau of Underground Storage Tank Regulation (‘BUSTR’). Further, Seller agrees to comply -with any and all requirements of BUSTR or any other governmental environmental regulatory body regarding environmental contamination on the property or which has originated on the property. Seller agrees to indemnify and hold Buyer harmless from any and all claims, losses or damages resulting from any environmental contamination related to this site created prior to sale of the property to Buyer. Buyer understands that the remediation process will be ongoing and agrees to provide necessary easements to permit Seller to monitor the property and perform necessary remediation. Seller agrees to perform such inspections and remediation work in as unobtrusive a manner as possible at Seller’s sole expense. Seller agrees to work with lenders on a best effort basis to explain the existing environmental contamination and remediation efforts at Buyer’s request.”

The third amendment further states that “[i]n the event Buyer is not satisfied with the environmental remediation on site or off site, Buyer shall have a right to terminate this contract and have all earnest money returned to him.”

Feinstein testified in his deposition that around the third or fourth amendment, he clearly indicated to Agent that financing the purchase of the property was not a problem. A fourth amendment, dated October 10, 1990, extended the financing contingency to June 1, 1991 and assigned the contract to appellant with the approval of appellee. Feinstein testified that the financing contingency was extended to extend the definite term of the contract until the environmental problem was resolved. Feinstein testified that appellant “did not have enough of a handle on the EPA problem to go forward” and that the extension of the financing contingency was a way to protect appellant. The fourth, amendment also added the following two provisions to Exhibit C:

“[1(G) ] Seller has removed contaminated soil from the underground fuel tank cavities on its newly remodeled Omega station on the adjoining southeast corner of the 5.50 acre parcel and placed it on part of the 5.50 acre site directly north of the remodeled Omega site (‘Soil Storage Area’). * * * Seller shall have the right to reserve an easement in its deed or by separate instrument over the Soil Storage Area to store and treat the contaminated soil in compliance with the *652 interim and final remediation plans approved by the Ohio Bureau of Underground Storage Tank Regulation (‘BUSTR’). Further, Seller agrees to comply with any and all requirements of BUSTR or any other governmental environmental regulatory body regarding environmental contamination caused by the contaminated soils. Seller agrees to indemnify and hold Buyer harmless from any and all claims, losses or damages resulting from any environmental contamination related to these contaminated soils. Buyer understands that the remediation process will be ongoing and agrees to provide necessary easements to permit Seller to monitor the property and perform necessary remediation, including installation of such machinery as it deems necessary along with accompanying power lines and ingress and egress. Seller agrees to perform such inspections and remediation work in an unobtrusive a manner as possible at Seller’s sole expense. Seller agrees to work with lenders on a best effort basis to explain the existing environmental contamination and remediation efforts at Buyer’s request.

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Bluebook (online)
681 N.E.2d 1343, 113 Ohio App. 3d 647, 1996 Ohio App. LEXIS 3583, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/crown-property-development-inc-v-omega-oil-co-ohioctapp-1996.