Mentor v. Nozik

8 Ohio App. Unrep. 644
Ohio Court of Appeals·Decided November 30, 1990·No. Case No. 89-L-14-080·Published

Opinion

DONOFRIO, J.

This is an appeal from the Court of Common Pleas of Lake County, Ohio from a judgment rendered in favor of the City of [645] Mentor on its complaint for nuisance, and for the Ohio Environmental protection Agency on its cross-claim for violations of R.C. 3734.02(C), R.C. 3734.03 and R.C. 6111.04. A permanent injunction was issued against Mentor Lagoons, et al., appellants.

Appellant, Mentor Lagoons Marina, is a two hundred acre marina adjacent to Lake Erie in Mentor, Ohio. Appellant, Albert C. Nosik, is the director, president and chief executive officer of Mentor Lagoons, Inc., which operates the marina. On August 3, 1984, appellee, City of Mentor, received a complaint regarding a damaged boat and other debris that had been put behind the bulkheads at the marina. Upon inspection of the premises, a Mentor Community Development Department employee discovered a large amount of refuse, some of it partially buried, behind the bulkheads. Among those items found were a chair, some car tires, electrical wires, shredded newspapers, bottles, cans, pieces of carpeting, a canvas boat cover, a metal canister, some mattresses, car axles, a hot water tank, and assorted wood scraps.

On September 11, 1984, a second inspection was conducted wherein additional items were found, including refrigerators, mattresses, car tires, car frames, two clothes dryers and a television set.

The marina has also been inspected on an annual basis since 1975 by the Lake County Health Department. In all but two of those years, Warren Wissman conducted the inspections. At each inspection, it was noted that there was illegal dumping of solid waste material, as that term is defined by the Environmental Protection Agency. Nozik was notified of the results of these inspections, and he was instructed to stop the dumping and remove certain items that were already behind the bulkheads.

Nozik maintained that the items were put there to help prevent erosion of the property. He refused to remove any of the debris, and the evidence indicates that the amount of debris increased with each annual inspection since 1980. It is undisputed that the marina did not have the necessary permits or licenses from the Ohio EPA or the Lake County Health Department to operate a waste landfill.

On February 6, 1987, the City of Mentor filed a complaint and motion for a temporary restraining order in the Lake County Common Pleas Court. The trial court held a hearing on May 1, 1987 and, on May 13, 1987, granted appellee's motion for a temporary restraining order.

On May 13, 1987, the City of Mentor filed an amended complaint against Mentor Lagoons, Inc., Albert Nozik, the Lake County General Health District, and the State of Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. The city alleged violations of the Ohio Revised Code and the Mentor Code of Ordinances and that the dumping created a nuisance. The city sought injunctive relief.

On June 29, 1987, the State of Ohio filed its answer to the complaint and cross-claim against Mentor Lagoons, Inc. and Albert Nozik. In its cross-claim, the state alleged that Mentor Lagoons had violated R.C. 6111.04, R.C. 3734.02(C), and Ohio Adm. Code 3745-31-02(A), which are all concerned with the disposal of solid waste without proper authority.

The matter went to trial on April 21, 1988 and was concluded July 29, 1988. By judgment dated February 15, 1989, the trial court found violations of R.C. 3734.02(C), prohibiting unregulated solid waste disposal, R.C. 3734.03, prohibiting unregulated open dumping, and R.C. 6111.04 regarding water pollution, statutory public nuisance and common law public nuisance. The trial court ordered Albert Nozik and Mentor Lagoons, Inc to stop dumping solid waste on its property and to clean up the waste that was already there. Further, Nozik and Mentor Lagoons, Inc. were assessed a civil penalty of $18,365, jointly and severally.

Appellants filed a motion for a new trial on March 1, 1989, which was denied on March 17, 1989. On March 21, 1989, appellants filed a motion for clarification of the opinion and judgment entry. This was subsequently denied on April 13, 1989. Appellants timely filed a notice of appeal on May 25, 1989.

Appellants' first assignment of error states:

"The trial court erred to the prejudice of defendants-appellants in granting a temporary restraining order and an injunction to plaintiff-appellee without showing that some wrong, injustice and irreparable damage had been done, for which there was no adequate remedy at law."

[646] In the first assignment of error, appellants argue that the trial court erred in granting appellee's motion for a temporary restraining order and an injunction without proof that some wrong, injustice or irreparable damage had been done for which there was no adequate remedy at law. Appellants maintain that, pursuant to Civ. R. 65, a temporary restraining order may only be granted if it appears that immediate and irreparable injury, loss or damage will result to the applicant and that, in the present case, such injury, loss or damage was not shown by clear and convincing evidence by appellee.

In the case sub judice, however, it was not necessary for the City of Mentor to show irreparable damage or lack of an adequate legal remedy. In Ackerman v. Tri-City Geriatric & Health Care, Inc. (1978), 55 Ohio St. 3d 51, at 56, the Ohio Supreme Court stated:

"*** jg established law in Ohio that, when a statute grants a specific injunctive remedy to an individual or to the state, the party requesting the injunction 'need not aver and show, as under ordinary rules in equity, that great or irreparable injury is about to be done for which he has no adequate remedy at law ***.' Stephan v. Daniels (1875), 27 Ohio St. 527, 536. ***" The court, at 57, explained:

"*** It would *** be redundant to require the *** [State] to show irreparable damage or lack of an adequate legal remedy once *** [it] has already proved that the conditions which the General Assembly has deemed worthy of injunctive relief exist. ***"

The version of R.C. 3734.10 in effect at the time of the filing of the complaint in the present case provided for injunctive relief upon a showing that any section of R.C. Chapter 3734 is being violated. It stated, in pertinent part:

"*** The court of common pleas *** has the jurisdiction to and shall grant preliminary and permanent injunctive relief upon a showing that the respondent named in the petition is operating a solid waste facility in violation of any section of this chapter or a hazardous waste facility in violation of any section of this chapter or regulations adopted thereunder."

This court has previously applied the logic and reasoning of Ackerman, supra, to R.C. 3734.10. In State, ex rel. Celebrezze, v. J.V. Peters & Co. (Apr. 19, 1985), Geauga App. No. 1088, unreported, this court held:

»*** Where the legislature has expressly provided for the availability of injunctive relief to halt violations of state law such as engaging in a business or activity without a permit, an injunction will issue solely upon a showing that the conditions set forth by the legislation authorizing such relief has been met. ***"

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