Hulshof v. Noranda Aluminum, Inc.

835 S.W.2d 411, 1992 Mo. App. LEXIS 897
CourtMissouri Court of Appeals
DecidedJune 3, 1992
Docket17628, 17684
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 835 S.W.2d 411 (Hulshof v. Noranda Aluminum, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Missouri Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hulshof v. Noranda Aluminum, Inc., 835 S.W.2d 411, 1992 Mo. App. LEXIS 897 (Mo. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

PARRISH, Judge.

Robert and Stella Hulshof (plaintiffs) brought an action against Noranda Aluminum, Inc. (Noranda), Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc. (AECI), and the City of New Madrid, Missouri (New Madrid), alleging that the discharge of drainage water from industrial premises located at St. Jude Industrial Park, New Madrid, Missouri, and operated by Noranda and AECI, constituted a nuisance in that the discharged water contained “industrial wastes, contaminants, pollutants and toxic chemicals” and flowed through “Drainage Ditch 29, a public drainage ditch,” that crossed a farm owned by Stella Hulshof and operated by Robert Hul-shof, her son. Plaintiffs alleged that the drainage ditch overflowed from time to time; that when the drainage ditch overflowed, the discharged water, together with the industrial wastes, contaminants, pollutants and toxic chemicals it contained, “inundated and covered” parts of the farmland. Their petition asserted that the discharge of drainage water by Noranda and AECI “caused the industrial wastes, contaminants, pollutants and toxic chemicals to be deposited on ... approximately 272 acres” of the farmland.

Plaintiff Stella Hulshof sought damages for the reduction of the fair market value of her real estate (Count I). Plaintiffs Stella Hulshof and Robert Hulshof sought damages for diminished production and destruction of crops on the premises (Count II), together with actual and punitive damages for impairment of their “right to use and enjoy their farm land and crops growing thereon” (Count III). Plaintiff Stella Hulshof also sought actual and punitive damages for substantial impairment of her right to use and enjoy her farm land, alleging that the conduct of Noranda and AECI showed “a complete indifference or conscious disregard for the safety of others” (Count IV). Plaintiffs also alleged that the premises were threatened with continued impairment by the continued discharge of industrial wastes, contaminants, pollutants and toxic chemicals by Noranda and AECI and sought a permanent injunction against Noranda and AECI continuing to discharge those substances into Drainage Ditch 29 (Count V).

Plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed their action against defendants AECI and New Madrid prior to trial. Following a jury trial, verdicts were returned in favor of Noranda on Counts I, II, III and IV. Judgment for Noranda was entered in accordance with the verdicts. The trial court thereafter considered and determined Count V on the basis of the evidence presented at the jury trial and evidence presented at an evidentiary hearing held some three months after the jury trial was concluded. The trial court found the issues presented in Count V in favor of plaintiffs and issued its decree enjoining Noranda, “its agents, servants and employees ... from discharging its surface water and industrial waste water ... into the St. Jude Industrial Park Ditch into Drainage Ditch 29.”

Plaintiffs appeal the entry of the judgment in favor of Noranda on Counts I, II, III and IV (Case No. 17628). Noranda appeals from the decree granting the injunction in Count V (Case No. 17684). This court affirms in both 17628 and 17684.

Facts in addition to those set forth above, to the extent necessary to resolve the points on appeal, will be set out in the following parts of this opinion.

Appeal No. 17628

Plaintiffs, for their appeal, present one point. Plaintiffs contend that the trial court erred by overruling their motion for new trial because the jury, when it returned its verdicts in favor of Noranda, also returned a hand-written statement, signed by each juror, “that conclusively established] ... that the jury found No-randa’s conduct to be culpable and that *414 punitive damages should be awarded if No-randa did not immediately stop the discharge of its pollutants and industrial waste.”

During the jury’s deliberations in the separate trial of Counts I, II, III and IV, the trial court received a written question from the jury. The question was, “Can we add a written statement to be read at the conclusion of the verdicts?” After a brief discussion, the following occurred:

THD [sic] COURT: I’ve written a response. The response just says: “Yes, if you wish.” I’ve signed it, “Fred W. Copeland, Circuit Judge.” And I’ve written it at the bottom of their note, which has been marked Court’s Exhibit 7, and I’ll ask the Bailiff to return it to the jury. Any objection to that, Mr. Rost?
MR. ROST (attorney for Noranda): No objection, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Mr. Reeves?
MR. REEVES (attorney for plaintiffs): No objection, Your Honor.

Shortly thereafter, the jury returned to the courtroom and advised the court that it had “reached a verdict as to each of the four issues that were presented to the jury.” The judge requested the foreman to hand the verdict forms and the instructions to the bailiff. The foreman then stated, “We have an additional sheet we’d like to add.” Upon inquiry by the judge as to its nature, the foreman started to explain, “It represents a statement from the jurors concerning — whereupon the judge instructed, “Well then, I’ll allow you to read it when we conclude. Just hang onto that.” The judge read the four verdicts that were received from the jury. All four verdicts found in favor of Noranda.

After the judge had read the verdicts and determined from the foreman that they were “the respective verdicts of the jury,” the following occurred:

THE COURT: All right. Before we proceed further there is, there was a note that said the jury would like to make some type of a statement, and [sic] I believe you have a handwritten statement which I’ll allow you to read at this time, Mr. McKeel.
FOREMAN: Okay. The statement reads:
“In lieu of punitive damages for the Hulshofs, we implore Noranda Aluminum, Inc. to extend funds as required to divert all discharges that now enter Ditch 29 into the Mississippi River as soon as possible.”
Dated March 4, 1991. And there are twelve signatures on this document.
THE COURT: All right, sir, if you’ll hand that — Wally, we’ll mark that. It will be marked as Court’s Exhibit No. 8.
Gentlemen, first, Mr. Reeves, on behalf of the Plaintiffs, before I discharge the jury, is there anything we need to take up on behalf of the Plaintiffs?
MR. REEVES: No, sir.
THE COURT: Mr. Lake, on behalf of the Defendant is there anything we need to take up before I discharge the jury?
MR. LAKE: No, sir.

The judge then thanked the jurors for their services and discharged the jury.

Noranda presents two points in opposition to plaintiffs’ appeal. Noranda contends that the trial court did not err in denying plaintiffs’ motion for new trial in view of the jury’s hand-written statement.

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

Related

Rivermont Village, Inc. v. Preferred Land Title, Inc.
371 S.W.3d 858 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2012)
Edmondson v. Edwards
111 S.W.3d 906 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 2003)
Heitner v. Gill
973 S.W.2d 98 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1998)
Waldroup v. Dravenstott
972 S.W.2d 364 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1998)
Sarah Beth Clingan Overstreet v. Shoney's, Inc.
Court of Appeals of Tennessee, 1994
Wilferth v. Pruett
854 S.W.2d 625 (Missouri Court of Appeals, 1993)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
835 S.W.2d 411, 1992 Mo. App. LEXIS 897, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hulshof-v-noranda-aluminum-inc-moctapp-1992.