Hobart Corp. v. Dayton Power & Light Co.

997 F. Supp. 2d 835, 78 ERC (BNA) 1638, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20953, 2014 WL 631509
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Ohio
DecidedFebruary 18, 2014
DocketCase No. 3:13-cv-115
StatusPublished

This text of 997 F. Supp. 2d 835 (Hobart Corp. v. Dayton Power & Light Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hobart Corp. v. Dayton Power & Light Co., 997 F. Supp. 2d 835, 78 ERC (BNA) 1638, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20953, 2014 WL 631509 (S.D. Ohio 2014).

Opinion

DECISION AND ENTRY OVERRULING THE “RES JUDICATA DEFENDANTS’ ” MOTION TO DISMISS COMPLAINT OR ALTERNATIVE MOTION TO STAY PENDING APPEAL (DOC. #99), AND DEFENDANT THE DAYTON POWER & LIGHT COMPANY’S MOTION TO DISMISS COUNT I (“MIGRATION CLAIM”) OF THE COMPLAINT (DOC. #138); SUSTAINING IN PART AND OVERRULING IN PART EACH OF THE FOLLOWING: CERTAIN DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS (DOC. # 100); DEFENDANT L.M. BERRY AND CO. LLC’S MOTION FOR JUDGMENT ON THE PLEADINGS, JOINDER IN OTHER DEFENDANTS’ MOTIONS AND ALTERNATIVE MOTION FOR STAY (DOC. # 115); DEFENDANT REYNOLDS AND REYNOLDS CO.’S • MOTION FOR JUDGMENT ON THE PLEADINGS, JOINDER IN OTHER DEFENDANTS’ MOTIONS, AND ALTERNATIVE MOTION FOR STAY (DOC. # 118); MOTION TO DISMISS OF DEFENDANT NEWMARK LLC (DOC. #157); MOTION TO DISMISS OF DEFENDANT LA MIRADA PRODUCTS CO., INC. (DOC. # 164); DEFENDANT FICKERT DEVCO, INC.’S MOTION TO DISMISS PLAINTIFFS’ AMENDED COMPLAINT (DOC. #168)

WALTER H. RICE, District Judge.

Plaintiffs Hobart Corporation, Kelsey-Hayes Company, and NCR Corporation filed suit against more than thirty defendants, all allegedly “potentially responsible parties” under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (“CERCLA”), as amended, 42 U.S.C. §§ 9607 and 9613, in connection with clean-up efforts at the South Dayton Dump and Landfill Site. Plaintiffs assert claims for cost recovery under § 107(a) of CERCLA, contribution under § 113(f)(3)(B) of CERCLA, declaratory judgment, and unjust enrichment.

This matter is currently before the Court on several motions to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) (Docs. ##99, 100, 138, 157, 164, 168), and two motions for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(c) (Docs. ## 115, 118).

I. Background and Procedural History

This is the third lawsuit that Plaintiffs have filed in their effort to recover costs incurred in connection with their clean-up efforts at the South Dayton Dump and Landfill Site (the “Site”). An understanding of what transpired in the first two lawsuits is crucial to resolving the pending motions in the above-captioned case.

According to the First Amended Complaint, the Site, located in Moraine, Ohio, is contaminated with several hazardous substances, including 1, 2-dichloroethene, tet-rachloroethene, toluene, polychlorinated biphenyls, vinyl chloride, arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, mercury, nickel, lead, zinc, and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, including phenanthrene, benzoan-thracene, benzopyrene, and flouranthene. Doc. # 144, at ¶ 3. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) has proposed listing the Site on the National Priorities List.

Plaintiffs were identified as potentially responsible parties (“PRPs”) under CERCLA, because they either: (1) own [841]*841and operate the Site; (2) owned or operated the Site when hazardous substances were disposed of there; (3) arranged for disposal or transport for disposal of hazardous substances at the Site; or (4) accepted hazardous substances for transport to the Site. See 42 U.S.C. § 9607(a).

A. 2006 ASAOC

In August of 2006, Plaintiffs and the EPA entered into an “Administrative Settlement Agreement and Order on Consent for Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study” (“2006 ASAOC”). Plaintiffs agreed to conduct a remedial investigation and feasibility study (“RI/FS”) for the Site.1 Stated objectives included the determination of the nature and extent of contamination and any current or potential threats to the public health, welfare, or the environment, the identification and evaluation of remedial alternatives, and the recovery of response and oversight costs incurred by the EPA with respect to the ASAOC. Ex. 1 to Doc. # 100, ¶ 9.

In exchange, the EPA agreed not to sue or take administrative action against Plaintiffs for the “Work” that was the subject of the 2006 ASAOC or for “Future Response Costs.” Id. at ¶ 82. The 2006 ASAOC defined “the Work” as “all activities Respondents are required to perform under this Settlement Agreement.” “Future Response Costs” were defined as all costs incurred by the United States in implementing, overseeing, and enforcing the Settlement Agreement. Id. at ¶ ll(i) and (x).

The parties agreed that the “Settlement Agreement constituted an administrative settlement for purposes of Section 113(f)(2) of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. § 9613(f)(2),” and that Plaintiffs were therefore entitled to protection from contribution actions for matters addressed therein. They also agreed that the Settlement Agreement constituted “an administrative settlement for purposes of Section 113(f)(3)(B) of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. § 9613(f)(3)(B),” pursuant to which Plaintiffs “have, as of the Effective Date, resolved their liability to the United States for the Work, and Future Response Costs.” The ASAOC did not prevent the parties from asserting claims for indemnification, contribution, or cost recovery against others who were not parties to it. Id. at ¶ 96.

1. Hobart I (Case No. 3:10-cv-195)

On May 24, 2010, Plaintiffs filed suit against eight PRPs, including Waste Management of Ohio, Inc. (“Waste Management”), The Bimac Corporation, Bridge-stone Americas Tire Operations, LLC (“Bridgestone”), Cargill, Inc. (“Cargill”), The Dayton Power & Light Company (“DP & L”), Monsanto Company, Valley Asphalt Corporation, and IRG Dayton I, LLC (“IRG”). Plaintiffs asserted four causes of action in connection with the RI/FS: (1) cost recovery under CERCLA § 107(a); (2) contribution under CERCLA § 113(f)(3)(B); (3) unjust enrichment; and (4) declaratory judgment.

Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), Defendants DP & L, Bridge-stone, and IRG filed motions to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. On February 10, 2011, the Court issued a Decision and Entry ruling on those motions. Hobart Corp. v. Waste Mgmt. of Ohio, Inc., 840 F.Supp.2d 1013 (S.D.Ohio 2011). The Court dismissed in part the § 107(a) cost recovery [842]*842claim asserted in Count 1. To the extent Plaintiffs alleged that Defendants disposed of hazardous substances directly at the Site, the allegations were sufficient to state a claim under § 107(a). However, to the extent Plaintiffs alleged that Defendants released hazardous substances on property adjacent to the Site and allowed those substances to migrate through the groundwater to contaminate the Site, Plaintiffs had failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted.

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Bluebook (online)
997 F. Supp. 2d 835, 78 ERC (BNA) 1638, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20953, 2014 WL 631509, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hobart-corp-v-dayton-power-light-co-ohsd-2014.