Oak Grove Resources, LLC v. White

86 So. 3d 963, 2011 WL 6272357, 2011 Ala. LEXIS 209
CourtSupreme Court of Alabama
DecidedDecember 16, 2011
Docket1100525
StatusPublished

This text of 86 So. 3d 963 (Oak Grove Resources, LLC v. White) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Oak Grove Resources, LLC v. White, 86 So. 3d 963, 2011 WL 6272357, 2011 Ala. LEXIS 209 (Ala. 2011).

Opinion

BOLIN, Justice.

Oak Grove Resources, LLC, and Cliffs North American Coal, LLC (hereinafter collectively referred to as “Oak Grove”), appeal from the trial court’s order in favor of a class of plaintiffs in this toxic-tort class action, finding that Oak Grove failed to satisfy the requirements of a settlement agreement between the parties and ordering the continued monitoring of air near the plaintiffs’ properties for the presence of coal dust for a period of one year.

Facts and Procedural History

On July 31, 1997, the plaintiffs1 sued Oak Grove2 alleging that it operated the Concord Coal Preparation Plant in a manner that caused coal dust to become airborne and to migrate to their properties, where it settled, causing them to suffer both personal injury and property damage. In October 2002, the parties entered into a settlement agreement (“the 2002 settlement agreement”); the 2002 settlement agreement provided for certain injunctive relief and the payment of attorney fees and expenses. The injunctive relief required Oak Grove to complete 14 specific remedial measures within 24 months of the execution of the 2002 settlement agreement. The 2002 settlement agreement provided the following with respect to the remedial measures:

“The remedial measures set out herein shall include the proper maintenance and upgrade of the system to facilitate the goals of eliminating or minimizing particulate matter and other airborne emissions affecting the plaintiff class. The Plaintiffs’ expert shall review the above remedial measures and shall inspect the facility, approve or suggest modifications or additional remedial measures. Should the proposed additional remedial measures not be acceptable to [Oak Grove], the parties shall present the dispute to the court. Once every six (6) months for a period of twenty-four (24) months, [Oak Grove] shall provide to plaintiffs’ expert and to the Court a report as to the status of compliance with the injunctive relief required by this Agreement. Plaintiffs’ expert may revisit the facility after receipt and review of each such report, if necessary, to confirm the status of compliance.”

The 2002 settlement agreement also provided that the trial court “shall retain exclusive jurisdiction over this controversy, the interpretation, implementation, application, and enforcement of this Settlement Agreement, the Final Judgement, and all injunctions and releases therein contained.”

Following a fairness hearing, the trial court, on October 31, 2002, entered a final order approving the 2002 settlement agreement and stating:

“The Court finds, based on the evidence presented at the Fairness Hearing and the submittals of the parties, that completion and continued performance of the Injunctive Relief set forth in the Settlement Agreement will prevent or minimize the off-site migration of particulate matter or other airborne emis[965]*965sions generated in the operations of [Oak Grove] at the ... Concord coal preparation plant such that any such off site migration will not be so offensive as to impair comfortable enjoyment of property or to materially interfere with the ordinary comforts of human existence.”

The trial court also expressly retained jurisdiction over the matter for the purpose of “enforcing [the] Final Judgment Order and for the purposes of exercising its equitable powers supervising [Oak Grove’s] commitments in carrying out the Settlement.”

Oak Grove implemented the remedial measures at the Concord plant following the trial court’s approval of the 2002 settlement agreement. However, the plaintiffs continued to complain that the Concord plant emitted coal dust onto their properties and that the remedial measures had not satisfactorily solved the problem. Based on the recommendation of their expert, the plaintiffs argued that the injunc-tive relief contained in the 2002 settlement agreement should be modified and that additional remedial measures should be taken in order to facilitate the goal of eliminating or minimizing the effect of coal dust on the plaintiffs’ properties.

The plaintiffs and Oak Grove negotiated and ultimately agreed to supplement the 2002 settlement agreement to allow for certain specific additional remedial measures relating to the Concord plant. The supplemental agreement called for a one-year ambient-air-monitoring program to determine whether there was an excessive amount of coal dust migrating from the Concord plant to the plaintiffs’ properties. If the air-monitoring program showed no exceedances of predetermined levels of coal dust migrating from the plant to the plaintiffs’ properties then the parties agreed that the 2002 settlement agreement would be fulfilled and the case resolved. Specifically, the parties agreed that if the air monitoring did not establish any excee-dances, the plaintiffs would (1) release Oak Grove from any and all claims the plaintiffs would have had up to the date of Oak Grove’s dismissal; (2) be permanently enjoined from bringing claims against Oak Grove that could have been asserted in this action; and (3) jointly submit with Oak Grove a proposed order stating that Oak Grove had fully complied with the 2002 settlement agreement. If, however, the air-monitoring program showed excee-dances, the plaintiffs would be allowed to petition the trial court for a determination as to whether further remedial measures were necessary. On December 11, 2008, the trial court entered an order approving the parties’ supplemental agreement (“the 2008 supplement”), stating that “should there not be a successful completion of the monitoring program, then this Court retains jurisdiction to direct and supervise, consistent with the Settlement Agreement, additional remedial measures.... ”

The 2008 supplement set forth a number of extensive details regarding the air-monitoring program. The 2008 supplement provided for two air monitors to be installed — one in the Concord neighborhood near the plant (“the neighborhood site”) and one on the premises of the Concord plant between the plant and the neighborhood (“the plant site”). The 2008 supplement did not provide an exact location for the placement of the monitors but provided only that the parties and their experts would “work together in good faith to determine the exact locations for the two sites.”

The 2008 supplement established an in-depth scientific method for collecting and analyzing air samples to determine whether there was an excessive migration of coal-dust pollutants from the plant to the [966]*966plaintiffs’ properties. The 2008 supplement provided that a validated measurement of ambient air containing particulate matter above 150ug/m3 at the neighborhood site would be deemed an exceedance. If an exceedance occurred that was determined to be attributable to the Concord plant, then the plaintiffs’ expert was entitled to inspect the Concord plant. If two or more consecutive exceedances occurred that were attributable to the Concord plant that were not timely corrected by Oak Grove, then the plaintiffs could recommend to the trial court additional modifications or remedial measures to be implemented.

The 2008 supplement further adopted a specific air-monitoring protocol prepared by Shaw Environmental, Inc. (“the Shaw protocol”). The Shaw protocol, among other things, set forth the criteria for locating, placing, and handling the monitors used for the ambient-air testing. Section 4.4 of the Shaw protocol provides:

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Bluebook (online)
86 So. 3d 963, 2011 WL 6272357, 2011 Ala. LEXIS 209, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/oak-grove-resources-llc-v-white-ala-2011.