United States v. Wedzeb Enterprises, Inc.

844 F. Supp. 1328, 24 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 21048, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1706, 1994 WL 58278
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Indiana
DecidedFebruary 10, 1994
DocketIP 90-1877 C
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 844 F. Supp. 1328 (United States v. Wedzeb Enterprises, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Indiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Wedzeb Enterprises, Inc., 844 F. Supp. 1328, 24 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 21048, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1706, 1994 WL 58278 (S.D. Ind. 1994).

Opinion

ENTRY

BARKER, Chief Judge.

The United States, on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), filed this action under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980, as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (“CERCLA” or the “Act”), 42 U.S.C. § 9601 et seq., to enforce an Administrative Order issued by the EPA pursuant to CERCLA Section 106, 42 U.S.C. § 9606. The Order directed Defendant Wedzeb Enterprises, Inc. (“Wedzeb”) to perform removal activities at Wedzeb’s Ballard Street property and surrounding contaminated locations (the “Site”) in Lebanon, Indiana. EPA took that action to abate what it considered to be an imminent and substantial danger arising from the release of hazardous substances, particularly polychlorinated biphenyls (“PCBs”), at the Site, resulting from a fire which destroyed a warehouse there on or about May 2, 1981. The United States’ Amended Complaint seeks recovery of past response costs and a declaratory judgment establishing the Defendants’ liability for any future response costs that the United States incurs as a result of the releases and threatened releases of hazardous substances into the environment from the Site. See 42 U.S.C. § 9607(a).

Pursuant to the Court’s March 22, 1991 Order of Bifurcation and First Case Management and Scheduling Order, this ease is proceeding in three phases: liability (Phase I), costs (Phase II), and cross-claims for contribution or indemnity (Phase III). Accordingly, these findings of fact and conclusions of law do not address issues pertaining to response costs, contribution, or indemnity. Because the United States has settled its claims against Defendants Westinghouse, Federal Signal, Crouse-Hinds, Doerr, Wedzeb, USA Manufacturing, and Daniels, the only defendants remaining in Phase I are the General Electric Company (“GE”) and Sprague Electric Company (“Sprague”) (collectively “Defendants”).

The Court conducted a bench trial in this matter on August 24-26, 1993. Having heard and considered the evidence, the Court hereby enters the following findings of fact and conclusions of law.

FINDINGS OF FACT

The Parties and Site

1. Wedzeb Enterprises, Inc. is an Indiana corporation with its principal place of business located at 510 Indianapolis Avenue in Lebanon, Indiana.

2. Wedzeb owns the Ballard Street Warehouse (“Warehouse”).

3. William E. Daniels (“Daniels”) is an individual residing and doing business in the State of Indiana.

4. Daniels owned the Warehouse in May, 1981, and maintained that ownership until at least'September 1985, when he conveyed it to Wedzeb.

5. Daniels is Wedzeb’s proprietor and sole stockholder.

6. General Electric is a New York corporation with its principal place of business at Schenectady, New York.

7. Sprague is a Massachusetts corporation with its principal place of business in Stamford, Connecticut.

8. The Site is located near the center of Lebanon, Boone County, Indiana, approximately twenty miles northwest of Indianapo *1331 lis and covers approximately one-half acre. The street address is 320 Ballard Street. The Site includes Wedzeb’s Ballard Street property and all land appurtenant thereto that was contaminated with hazardous substances released from the property.

9. Daniels purchased the Warehouse in February, 1981. It was a horseshoe-shaped, brick building with wooden floors.

Wedzeb and its Operations

10. Daniels formed Wedzeb in 1974 as a brokerage for surplus electrical components. Wedzeb purchased these components from the inventories of electrical equipment manufacturers at prices usually reduced below wholesale prices. It then sold the components to other manufacturers, distributors, and repair shops at prices below or competitive with prices of wholesale distributors. Wedzeb’s marketing literature described its business as follows:

We are specialists in the purchase of excess, idle or surplus inventories of air conditioning, heating, refrigeration and electrical component parts.... Specific commodities we always are looking to buy include: finished goods, electric motors, controls, dryers and tvx valves, capacitors, transformers, thermostats, relays, compressors, pipe fittings, copper and brass fittings, electrical fittings, wire and circuit breakers and related items.

Plaintiffs Exhibit 344.

11. Wedzeb’s total sales volume rose from almost $350,000 in 1977 to over $900,000 in 1979, over $1.1 million in 1980, and over $1.6 million in 1981. See Plaintiffs Exhibits 362, 363, 364.

12. Among the electrical components that Wedzeb purchased and sold were capacitors, including capacitors containing PCBs.

13. Wedzeb ran regular advertisements in industry periodicals stating: “I BUY PCB Capacitors. I also sell capacitors. I have 500,000 capacitors in my inventory. Call me to get listing.” Plaintiffs Exhibits 347 & 348.

14. Wedzeb distributed catalogs of components it had available for purchase, including numerous ratings of capacitors containing PCBs, to a mailing list of approximately ten to thirty thousand potential customers in 1978 and the years following. See Daniels, 8/24/93 at 1-149. It is impossible to specify precisely the quantity of capacitors that Wedzeb sold because many of Wedzeb’s records have been destroyed. Daniels’ testimony and existing records indicate that Wedzeb sold thousands of PCB capacitors during 1977 to 1981, including sales to customers outside the United States. See Daniels, 8/24/93 at 1-155, 1-169-174. The volume of Wedzeb’s sales of PCB capacitors demonstrates the existence of a substantial market for PCB capacitors between 1977 to 1982.

15. In or about April, 1981, Daniels directed his employees to move equipment from Wedzeb’s warehouse on Walnut Street in Lebanon to the newly-acquired building on Ballard Street (ie. the Warehouse). Among the equipment moved to the Warehouse were many thousands of capacitors, including PCB capacitors.

Wedzeb’s Commercial Transactions with GE and Sprague

16. Prior to May 2,1981, General Electric shipped PCB capacitors to Wedzeb from plants in Hudson Falls and Syracuse, New York. See Plaintiffs Exhibits 525, 108, 122, 336, 337 and 338.

17. Prior to May 2, 1981, Sprague shipped PCB capacitors to Wedzeb from its facilities in North Adams, Massachusetts. See Defendants’ Exhibit 761; Plaintiffs Exhibits 103, 105, and 120.

18. In the late 1970s, GE decided to remove all of its PCB materials from its inventory after it appeared that the United States Government would soon' regulate the storage, handling and sale of PCB materials.

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844 F. Supp. 1328, 24 Envtl. L. Rep. (Envtl. Law Inst.) 21048, 1994 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 1706, 1994 WL 58278, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-wedzeb-enterprises-inc-insd-1994.