The City of Fort Wayne v. Northern Indiana Public Service Company and Nisource, Inc.

2 N.E.3d 60, 2014 WL 131712, 2014 Ind. App. LEXIS 6
CourtIndiana Court of Appeals
DecidedJanuary 15, 2014
Docket02A04-1307-CT-366
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 2 N.E.3d 60 (The City of Fort Wayne v. Northern Indiana Public Service Company and Nisource, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Indiana Court of Appeals primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
The City of Fort Wayne v. Northern Indiana Public Service Company and Nisource, Inc., 2 N.E.3d 60, 2014 WL 131712, 2014 Ind. App. LEXIS 6 (Ind. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

OPINION

BRADFORD, Judge.

CASE SUMMARY

In 2009, Appellee/Defendant/Counter-Plaintiff Northern Indiana Public Service Company ("NIPSCO") hired a contractor to perform remediation work on land it owns in Fort Wayne. The remediation project was designed to address contamination and involved excavation and construction of an underground monolith. NIPSCO requested information from Appellant/Plaintiff/Counter-Defendant the City of Fort Wayne ("the City") regarding the locations of underground facilities operated by the City, information the City subsequently provided. As it happened, the information was incorrect regarding the location of an underground drain, and NIPSCO's contractor damaged the drain, causing flooding in the area, The City brought suit against NIPSCO and Ni-Source, NIPSCO's sole shareholder and corporate parent. Ultimately, the trial court granted NiSource's motion to dismiss 1 and NIPSCO's motion for summary judgment. The City now appeals, contending that the trial court erred in striking portions of an affidavit it designated, in failing to strike portions of an affidavit designated by NIPSCO, and in granting summary judgment in favor of NIPSCO. We conclude that the City's failure to discharge its statutory duties to provide aceu-rate locations of its underground facilities to NIPSCO is dispositive of all claims on appeal, and we affirm.

FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

In Fort Wayne, there is 48-inch drain identified as M10 264 and M10 373 running generally east-west under Duck Street ("the Duck Street Drain"). According to the City's maps, the Duck Street Drain intersects with a drain running generally north-south under Barr-Street ("the Barr Street Drain") directly under the intersection of Duck and Barr. In reality, the Barr Street Drain veers to the northeast at some point South of the intersection and therefore drains into the Duck Street Drain some distance to the east of the intersection. In 2000, NIPSCO hired Reynolds, Inc., to rehabilitate the Duck Street Drain on its property, a project that included isolation of the drain, televising the drain, and installing an appropriate drain liner. Measurements taken by Reynolds at the time seem to indicate the Barr Street Drain intersecting with the Duck Street Drain east of the intersection.

On July 22, 2008, NIPSCO and the City entered into a Remedial Work Plan to address contamination believed to have been caused by the operation of a manufactured gas plant located near Barr and Superior Streets in Fort Wayne. The project was designed to accomplish in situ solidification of certain subsurface materials, which, inter alia, involved NIPSCO auguring soil in a designated area and creating an underground monolith with a concrete-like substance.

*62 Prior to performing the work and pursuant to the Indiana Damage to Underground Facilities Act ("DUFA"), NIPSCO's contractor WRS Compass Environmental notified the Indiana Underground Plant Protection Service ("IUPPS") of its intent to exeavate and requested "locates" of all underground facilities in the area. The City subsequently provided locates of certain underground facilities in the area. The City's utility maps failed to indicate that the Barr Street Drain veered to the northeast and drained into the Duck Street Drain to the east of the intersection of the two streets, WRS Compass began work on the project in January of 2009 and completed it in or around May of 2009. In February, March, April, May, and July of 2009, the site near the remediation experienced flooding, and it was discovered that the Barr Street Drain had been crushed and clogged by the concrete-like material placed in the ground as part of the remediation project.

On January 3, 2011, the City brought suit against NIPSCO and NiSource, alleging negligence on the part of NIPSCO that led to the City incurring monetary losses. On March 18, 2011, NIPSCO and Ni-Source answered the City's claim, and NIPSCO asserted a counterclaim. On March 24, 2011, the City answered NIP-SCO's counterclaim. On October 29, 2012, NIPSCO and NiSource moved for partial summary judgment and NiSource filed a motion to dismiss. <«NIPSCO designated the affidavit of Mark Okin. On January 9, 2013, the City responded to NIPSCO's and NiSource's motions, designating the affidavit of Mike Hicks in support of its response to NIPSCO's summary judgment motion and moving to strike portions of Okin's affidavit. On February 22, 2018, NIPSCO and NiSource filed reply briefs in response of their dispositive motions and also moved to strike portions of Hick's affidavit.

On May 13, 2018, the trial court held a hearing on the parties' pending motions, during which it granted in part and denied in part the cross-motions to strike and granted NiSource's motion to dismiss. On June 21, 2013, the trial court granted summary judgment in favor of NIPSCO.

DISCUSSION AND DECISION

When reviewing the grant or denial of a summary judgment motion, we apply the same standard as the trial court. Merchs. Nat'l Bank v. Simrell's Sports Bar & Grill, Inc., 741 N.E.2d 383, 386 (Ind.Ct.App.2000). Summary judgment is appropriate only where the evidence shows there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law. Id.; Ind. Trial Rule 56(C). All facts and reasonable inferences drawn from those facts are construed in favor of the nonmoving party. Id. To prevail on a motion for summary judgment, a party must demonstrate that the undisputed material facts negate at least one element of the other party's claim. Id. Once the moving party has met this burden with a prima facie showing, the burden shifts to the nonmoving party to establish that a genuine issue does in fact exist. Id. The party appealing the summary judgment bears the burden of persuading us that the trial court erred. Id.

I. Did the Trial Court Err in Concluding that the City Failed to Comply with DUFA

The City contends that the trial court erred in concluding that it failed to comply with the requirements for operators of underground facilities pursuant to DUFA, or Indiana Code chapter 8-1-26. DUFA details the responsibilities of both operators *63 and those wishing to excavate in the area of underground facilities:

[A] person may not exeavate real property or demolish a structure that is served or was previously served by an underground facility without first ascertaining in the manner prescribed by see-tions 16 and 18 of this chapter the location of all underground facilities in the area affected by the proposed excavation or demolition.

Ind.Code § 8-1-26-14. At all times relevant to this appeal, section 16 of DUFA provided that "before commencing an excavation or demolition operation described in section 14 of this chapter each person responsible for the excavation or demolition shall ... serve notice on the [IUPPS] of the person's intent to excavate or demolish{.]"

In return, the operator of any underground facilities, in this case the City,

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2 N.E.3d 60, 2014 WL 131712, 2014 Ind. App. LEXIS 6, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/the-city-of-fort-wayne-v-northern-indiana-public-service-company-and-indctapp-2014.