Schuchman/Samberg Investments, Inc. v. Hoosier Penn Oil Co. Inc. , 2016 Ind. App. LEXIS 286 ( 2016 )

FILED
Aug 04 2016, 8:21 am
CLERK
Indiana Supreme Court
Court of Appeals
and Tax Court
ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLANT ATTORNEYS FOR APPELLEE
David L. Hatchett Frank J. Deveau
Michael J. Reeder Melissa A. Gardner
Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis, Indiana
Todd J. Janzen
Brianna J. Schroeder
Indianapolis, Indiana
Dale W. Eikenberry
Indianapolis, Indiana
IN THE
COURT OF APPEALS OF INDIANA
Schuchman/Samberg August 4, 2016
Investments, Inc., Court of Appeals Case No.
Appellant-Defendant, 49A02-1508-MI-1051
Appeal from the Marion Superior
v. Court
The Honorable Timothy W.
Hoosier Penn Oil Co. Inc., et al., Oakes, Judge
Appellee-Plaintiff. Trial Court Cause No.
49D02-0911-MI-51276
Altice, Judge.
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Case Summary
[1] In this certified interlocutory appeal, Schuchman/Samberg Investments (SSI)
appeals the trial court’s order granting summary judgment in favor of
defendants Hoosier Penn Oil Company, Inc., Union Oil Company of
California, and BP Corporation North America, Inc. (collectively, the Former
Operators) on SSI’s claims under Indiana’s Environmental Legal Actions
Statute (ELA) and Petroleum Releases Statute (PRS). Specifically, the trial
court ruled that the ELA claim was time-barred and that SSI had not
established that it had a right to recover under the PRS. SSI raises the following
restated issues on appeal:
1. Did the trial court err in concluding that the ELA claim was subject
to the six-year statute of limitation applicable to claims for damage to
real property?
2. Did the trial court err in concluding that the statute of limitation
applicable to the ELA claim had expired?
3. Did the trial court err in concluding that the PRS did not permit SSI
to recover investigation and remediation costs from the Former
Operators under the circumstances of this case?
We affirm.1
1
We held oral argument in this matter on June 3, 2016. We commend counsel on the quality of their written
and oral advocacy.
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Facts & Procedural History
[2] This case revolves around a piece of environmentally contaminated industrial
property located at 850 South Keystone Avenue in Indianapolis (the Site).
Historically, the Site has been used for bulk storage of oil and other petroleum
products in underground storage tanks (USTs) and aboveground storage tanks
(ASTs). Standard Oil owned and operated the Site from the 1920s until 1941,
at which time Union Oil took ownership. Union Oil operated the Site until
1975, at which time it was purchased by Carl and Florence Hulen/Hulen Real
Estate, LLC (collectively, Hulen). From 1975 until 1978, Hulen leased the
property to Univar USA, Inc., which operated a chemical distribution facility
and stored large volumes of industrial solvents on the Site. From 1979 until
1995, Hulen leased the Site to Hoosier Penn Oil, which used it to operate a
lubricant oil and antifreeze distribution center. In 1995, Hulen sold the
property to Wilcher Trucking, Inc. (Wilcher) on contract,2 and SSI3 leased the
Site from Wilcher. SSI used the Site to operate a metal scrapyard and a diesel
fuel storage tank. SSI purchased the Site from Wilcher in 1998.
[3] In 1994, while the Site was owned by Hulen and being leased by Hoosier Penn,
Keramida Environmental conducted testing of the soil and groundwater at the
Site as part of ongoing negotiations concerning Hoosier Penn’s potential
2
Wilcher obtained title to the Site in 1997.
3
It was actually SSI’s predecessor, Surplus Acquisition and Recycling Consultants of America Inc., d/b/a
SARCO, that leased the site. SARCO became SSI around 2004. In the interest of clarity, SSI and SARCO
will both be referred to as SSI.
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purchase of the Site. Although Keramida did not conduct a full investigation of
the Site, it nevertheless discovered contamination in multiple areas of the Site
that met or exceeded state and federal standards in effect at the time that would
have required remediation. Keramida provided a Corrective Action Plan (the
Keramida CAP) to Hoosier Penn, Hulen, and Hulen’s attorneys in which it set
forth its findings and recommended extensive soil and groundwater testing and
remediation. In light of the extent of the contamination and potential
investigation and remediation costs identified in the Keramida CAP, Hoosier
Penn offered to purchase the property from Hulen for $1, with the
understanding that Hoosier Penn would undertake the remedial actions set
forth in the Keramida CAP. Hulen refused the offer, and Hoosier Penn
relocated its business. In June 1994, Hulen’s attorney reviewed the Keramida
CAP and sent Hulen a letter setting forth his opinion that no regulatory
authority would reasonably require further investigation or corrective action at
the Site. No remediation was conducted at that time.
[4] Shortly thereafter, Hulen sold the property to Wilcher. As part of the
transaction, Hulen and Wilcher executed and recorded an “Environmental
Disclosure Document for Transfer of Real Property” (the Disclosure
Document), as was required by applicable law at that time. Appellant’s Appendix
at 325. The Disclosure Document makes repeated reference to an
environmental report prepared by Patriot Engineering (the Patriot Report). The
Disclosure Document indicated that the transferor had conducted operations on
the Site involving hazardous substances, petroleum, and hazardous waste, and
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that there were ASTs, USTs, and container storage areas on the Site. The
Disclosure Document further indicated that hazardous substances or petroleum
had come into contact with the ground at the Site and that soil testing and
groundwater monitoring had been conducted at the Site as a result. The
Disclosure Document indicated that there were no other environmental defects
on the Site, but there was an asterisk next to this representation directing the
reader to “see reported soil and groundwater contamination as described in the
aforementioned Patriot Report.” Id. at 333. The drafter of the Disclosure
Document answered several questions on the form in the negative, but added
language directing the reader to review the Patriot Report. The Disclosure
Document, but not the Patriot Report, was incorporated into the deed record
available to the public prior to SSI’s purchase of the Site. The Disclosure
Document indicates that a copy of the Patriot Report is available upon request
from Hulen, but the Patriot Report was not designated in this case, and it
appears that the parties have been unable to locate it.
[5] On May 8, 1996, an employee of the Marion County Health Department
conducted a field inspection at the Site and spoke to Barry Schuchman, one of
SSI’s principals. In his inspection notes, the investigator noted that removal of
an old AST basin and metal tanks had exposed “highly contaminated
soil/some pools of fluid on water.” Id. at 167. The inspection notes indicate
that Schuchman informed the investigator that Hoosier Penn would be
performing remediation in the area. No such remediation occurred.
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[6] Shortly after entering into the lease with Wilcher, SSI entered into negotiations
to purchase the Site. Schuchman testified that during those negotiations,
Wilcher provided SSI with a copy of a Phase I environmental report that had
been prepared in conjunction with Wilcher’s purchase of the Site from Hulen
(the Wilcher Phase I). According to Schuchman, the Wilcher Phase I was a
one-page document that “said the property was clean and there was no problem
with the property.” Appellant’s Appendix at 339. The Wilcher Phase I has not
been produced in this litigation or designated as evidence.
[7] Schuchman testified further that in 1997, prior to SSI’s purchase of the Site, he
personally observed stained soil around the former ASTs and that SSI
consequently had the top two feet of soil in that area excavated and removed.
No testing was done to ascertain the extent of the contamination or to confirm
that the excavation was sufficient remediation, and neither SSI nor Wilcher
obtained a determination from the Indiana Department of Environmental
Management (IDEM) that no further action was necessary.
[8] In June 1998, shortly after purchasing the Site, SSI received a copy of another
Phase I environmental report (the 1998 Phase I). The 1998 Phase I provided
that the assessment had “revealed no evidence of recognized environmental
conditions in connection with the property except for” the Site’s historical use as
a “bulk oil storage area with eight [USTs] and thirteen [ASTs].” Id. at 183
(emphasis supplied). The 1998 Phase I further indicated that an environmental
assessment had been performed on the Site around 1995, but that the report
from that assessment was unavailable at that time. Schuchman testified that
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upon receiving the 1998 Phase I, he believed that SSI was “stuck” with a
potentially contaminated property. Id. at 163.
[9] Another Phase I Environmental Site Assessment was conducted in 2003 (the
2003 Phase I) in conjunction with a possible sale of the Site. The 2003 Phase I
noted multiple recognized environmental conditions on the Site, and as a result
of the 2003 Phase I and a subsequent Phase II, the potential buyer delayed and
ultimately declined to purchase the Site. Subsequent investigations confirmed
the presence of extensive environmental contamination at the Site.
[10] On December 20, 2006, IDEM sent SSI a letter directing SSI to conduct an
investigation to determine the nature and extent of the contamination and
create a report pursuant to Ind. Code § 13-24-1-6. After receiving two
investigative reports from SSI, IDEM sent SSI another letter, dated December
16, 2010, instructing SSI to submit a remediation work plan. On December 30,
2011, IDEM approved SSI’s remediation work plan and directed SSI to
implement the plan. SSI is currently in the process of conducting the work set
forth in the plan and has incurred extensive remediation costs.
[11] On November 9, 2009, SSI filed a complaint against Hoosier Penn, Union Oil,
BP, and Univar seeking reimbursement for costs incurred and to be incurred in
the future by SSI in investigating and remediating the contamination.
Specifically, SSI asserted claims under the ELA, the Indiana Underground
Storage Tank Act (USTA), and the PRS. On July 3, 2014, the Former
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Operators4 filed a joint motion for partial summary judgment on SSI’s claims
under the ELA and the PRS. On May 15, 2015, the trial court entered its order
granting the Former Operators’ motion for partial summary judgment,
concluding that SSI’s ELA claim was untimely and that the PRS does not
provide SSI with a right to recover from the Former Operators under the
circumstances of this case. SSI filed a motion to certify the order for
interlocutory appeal, which the trial court granted on July 8, 2015. This court
accepted jurisdiction on September 4, 2015, and this appeal ensued.
Discussion & Decision
[12] The standard of review applicable to appeals from summary judgment is well
settled:
We review an order for summary judgment de novo, which is the same
standard of review applied by the trial court. The moving party must
“affirmatively negate an opponent’s claim” by demonstrating that the
designated evidence raises no genuine issue of material fact and that the
moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The burden
then shifts to the nonmoving party to demonstrate a genuine issue of
material fact. In reviewing the record, we construe all reasonable
inferences in favor of the nonmoving party. Summary judgment is
inappropriate when genuine factual issues persist—that is, when the
designated evidence “support[s] conflicting reasonable inferences.”
4
Univar did not join in the motion for summary judgment and is not included in the term “Former
Operators” for the purposes of this opinion.
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Ind. Restorative Dentistry, P.C. v. Lavens Ins. Agency, Inc., 27 N.E.3d 260, 264 (Ind.
2015) (citations omitted).
[13] The trial court in this case entered extensive findings and conclusions in its
summary judgment order. Although we are not bound by such findings and
conclusions, they aid our review by providing reasons for the trial court’s
decision. Allen Gray Ltd. P’ship IV v. Mumford, 44 N.E.3d 1255, 1256 (Ind. Ct.
App. 2015). We will affirm the trial court’s order granting summary judgment
on any theory or basis supported by the record. Id.
1. The Statute of Limitation Applicable to the ELA Claim
[14] The ELA does not include an express statute of limitation.5 Thus, the threshold
issue in this case is what statute of limitation applies to SSI’s ELA claim. The
5
In 2011, the General Assembly enacted I.C. § 34-11-2-11.5, which provides in pertinent part that:
(b) Subject to subsections (c), (d), and (e), a person may seek to recover the following in an
action brought on or after the effective date of this section under IC 13-30-9-2 or IC 13-23-13-
8(b) to recover costs incurred for a removal action, a remedial action, or a corrective action:
(1) The costs incurred not more than ten (10) years before the date the action is brought, even
if the person or any other person also incurred costs more than ten (10) years before the date
the action is brought.
(2) The costs incurred on or after the date the action is brought.
In Bernstein v. Bankert, 733 F.3d 190, 217 n.16, 219 (7th Cir. 2012), the Seventh Circuit refers to I.C. § 34-11-
2-11.5 as a statute of limitation. Although this provision appears in a chapter of the Indiana Code titled
“Specific Statutes of Limitation,” I.C. § 34-11-2-11.5 does not fit that description. See Ind. Code § 1-1-1-5(f)
(providing that “[t]he headings of titles, articles, and chapters as they appear in the Indiana Code . . . are not
part of the law . . . and are not intended to affect the meaning, application or construction of the statute they
precede”). I.C. § 34-11-2-11.5 says nothing of the time frame within which an ELA claim must be brought or
the events that trigger the running of that period. Instead, it imposes a limitation on the types of damages
recoverable in an ELA claim in the form of a ten-year look-back period. In any event, the parties do not
dispute that I.C. § 34-11-2-11.5 is inapplicable in this case because SSI’s action was commenced prior to its
enactment.
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Former Operators argue that the six-year statute of limitation applicable to
claims for damage to real property set forth in Ind. Code § 34-11-2-7 applies.
SSI argues that their ELA claim is one for contribution rather than property
damage and, therefore, the ten-year catch-all statute of limitation set forth in
I.C. § 34-11-1-2 applies. Finding this court’s decision in Peniel Group, Inc. v.
Bannon, 973 N.E.2d 575 (Ind. Ct. App. 2012), trans. denied, controlling, the trial
court concluded that the six-year statute of limitation applies to SSI’s ELA
claim. On appeal, SSI argues that Peniel is distinguishable and therefore not
controlling and that Bernstein v. Bankert, 733 F.3d 190 (7th Cir. 2012), in which
the Seventh Circuit distinguished Peniel and applied the general, ten-year statute
of limitation to an ELA claim, is analogous and persuasive.
[15] The ELA provides that:
A person may, regardless of whether the person caused or contributed
to the release of a hazardous substance or petroleum into the surface or
subsurface soil or groundwater that poses a risk to human health and
the environment, bring an environmental legal action against a person
that caused or contributed to the release to recover reasonable costs of a
removal or remedial action involving the hazardous substances or
petroleum.
Ind. Code § 13-30-9-2.
[16] In Peniel, another panel of this court considered whether the six-year or ten-year
statute of limitation applied to an ELA claim. The Peniel plaintiffs owned and
operated a piece of property that had previously been operated as a dry-cleaning
business, and they brought an ELA claim against the former owners and
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operators seeking to recover costs relating to investigation and remediation of
contamination on the property. The defendants filed a motion for summary
judgment asserting that the ELA claim was barred by the six-year statute of
limitation. The plaintiffs filed a response arguing that their claim was one for
contribution rather than property damage and, consequently, the general ten-
year statute of limitation applied. Peniel, 973 N.E.2d at 576-78.
[17] In reaching the conclusion that the plaintiffs’ claim was for property damage as
opposed to contribution, the court explained that “[c]ontribution involves the
partial reimbursement of one who has discharged a common liability.” Id. at
581. The court noted that there was no Indiana case law addressing the
applicable statute of limitation under the ELA and looked to a federal district
court decision, Taylor Farm Ltd. Liab. Co. v. Viacom, Inc., 234 F. Supp. 2d 950
(S.D. Ind. 2002), for guidance. In that case, the plaintiffs filed an ELA claim
against Viacom, which had entered into a comprehensive settlement agreement
with the EPA requiring it to clean up hazardous waste at a former landfill. The
Taylor court addressed whether the ELA claim was barred by the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act’s
“contribution bar,” which provides that individuals who have resolved their
liability to the United States via a judicially-approved settlement shall not be
liable for contribution claims regarding matters addressed in the settlement.
The district court concluded that the ELA “is not, on its face, a contribution
scheme” because it “permits ‘any person’ to sue to ‘recover the reasonable costs
of a removal or remedial action.’” Id. at 962. The district court explained,
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“[u]nder the common law of contribution, only a defendant in a lawsuit, or a
party who has already been found liable in a previous action may bring a claim
for contribution.” Id. at 972.
[18] Relying on Taylor, the Peniel court concluded that claims brought under the
ELA were not contribution claims:
We cannot say that a claim brought under the ELA is a claim for
contribution where it allows a plaintiff who is neither liable for the
release of a hazardous substance nor has been found liable, to recover
the costs of remediation from another party “without regard to the
plaintiff’s part in causation of the damage.” Accordingly, we find that
the ELA is subject to the six-year statute of limitations pursuant to
Indiana Code section 34-11-2-7(3) (providing that actions for injuries to
real property must be commenced within six years after the cause of
action accrues).
Peniel, 973 N.E.2d at 582 (footnote and citation omitted).
[19] SSI argues that Peniel is distinguishable and directs our attention to Bernstein,
733 F.3d 190. Bernstein involved a site that had been formerly operated as a
waste-handling and disposal facility. The plaintiffs in that action were the
trustees of a fund created to finance and oversee the cleanup of the property,
and the defendants were former owners and their insurers, none of whom had
paid into the trust despite an alleged obligation to do so. Specifically, the
defendants had entered into Administrative Orders by Consent (AOCs) with
the EPA in 1999 and 2002 pursuant to which they and other respondents
agreed to create a trust and fund it to the extent necessary to finance
remediation efforts and, in exchange, the EPA conditionally agreed not to sue
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the defendants in relation to the environmental contamination. When the
defendants did not fulfill their obligations under the 2002 AOC, the trustees
sued to recover cleanup costs under the ELA and other statutes. The
defendants successfully moved for summary judgment on statute of limitation
grounds, and the trustees appealed.
[20] As in this case, the trustees in Bernstein argued that the ten-year catch-all statute
of limitation applied, while the defendants argued that the six-year property
damage statute of limitation applied. In resolving this issue, the Seventh Circuit
compared our Supreme Court’s decision in Pflanz v. Foster, 888 N.E.2d 756 (Ind.
2009), with this court’s decision in Peniel.
[21] In Pflanz, the purchasers of a parcel of land that had previously been operated as
a gas station incurred extensive remediation costs after IDEM issued a cleanup
order related to leaking USTs on the property. The purchasers brought suit
against the former owners under the USTA, and their complaint was dismissed
as untimely. Although the parties in Pflanz agreed that the general ten-year
statute of limitation applied, they disagreed as to what events triggered the
running of that period. Noting that the issue was not in dispute, the Pflanz court
applied the ten-year statute of limitation without analysis and instead focused
its attention on the events triggering the running of the statute of limitation.
[22] Despite the lack of analysis on the issue in Pflanz, the Bernstein court reasoned
that application of the ten-year limitation period in that case was decided rather
than presumed. According to the Bernstein court, “[t]he Indiana Supreme Court
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simply would not have applied the ten-year catch-all if it was legally incorrect to
do so, whether the parties agreed to it or not. Their decision to honor the
parties’ agreement therefore amounted to a decision that the limitation period
agreed to was legally correct.” 733 F.3d at 218, n.18. The Bernstein court noted
further that although Pflanz addressed a USTA claim, the USTA was similar to
the ELA in that it creates a cause of action for one who has undertaken
environmental remediation to recover costs from the parties responsible for the
contamination and does not include its own express statute of limitation. Id. at
217-18.
[23] The Bernstein court distinguished Peniel on the basis that the court in that case
“confronted a different kind of claim” because the plaintiffs in that case “were
the owners of the real property in question and were not themselves responsible
in any way for the contamination at the site[.]” Id. at 218. In response to the
defendants’ argument that the outcome of the case should be controlled by
Peniel because it addressed an ELA claim, as opposed to Pflanz, which
addressed a USTA claim, the Bernstein court reasoned as follows:
[U]nder these circumstances, the statute under which the claim is
brought does not determine the limitations period. Indeed, it cannot do
so, because the statute under which the claim was brought did not have
a limitations period. That is the root of the problem. What Peniel
shows is that the underlying nature of the claim is what matters, a
principle which is well-established in Indiana law. Specifically, the
Peniel court found that a property damage claim brought under the ELA
. . . was governed by the statute of limitations for property damages.
That makes sense, given the nature of the claim. But not every ELA
claim is one for property damages. In this case, for example, the
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Trustees have no proprietary interest in [the contaminated site]. The
[defendants] do. There is no plausible legal theory under which we
might find that the Trustees are suing the [defendants]—who are the
only parties with a proprietary interest in [the contaminated site]—for
damages to the real property at [the contaminated site]. Neither the
“nature or substance” of this ELA claim shows that it is an action for
property damages, and the property damages limitations period
therefore does not apply.
Id. at 219 (citations omitted). Thus, having found that the specific claim set
forth by the trustees was not one for property damage, the court determined
that the claim fell within the ten-year catch-all statute of limitation set forth in
I.C. § 34-11-1-2 regardless of whether the claim was called “a contribution
action, or a cost-recovery action, or . . . some other name.” Id.
[24] SSI attempts to distinguish Peniel on appeal. SSI first argues that unlike in this
case, the plaintiffs in Peniel were fully aware of the contamination before they
purchased the property. The Former Operators dispute this interpretation of
Peniel’s facts, but we need not resolve the disagreement as it is irrelevant to the
question of which statute of limitation applies. The date on which SSI became
aware of contamination on the Site is pertinent only to the question of when the
ELA claim accrued, which will be addressed separately below.
[25] Next, SSI argues that Bernstein and Peniel both found the question of whether
the plaintiff was alleged to have contributed to the contamination relevant to
the determination of which statute of limitation applies. Indeed, in discussing
Peniel, the Bernstein court noted that the Peniel plaintiffs were the owners of the
property and were not themselves responsible for the contamination. SSI
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argues that this case “differs materially from the present case” because the
Former Operators have alleged that SSI contributed to the contamination.
Appellant’s Brief at 11.
[26] The Former Operators respond that “[a]n affirmative defense raising
comparative fault . . . does not in and of itself change the nature of SSI’s claim
from a cost recovery/property damage claim into one of contribution.”
Appellee’s Brief at 14. We agree. Whether the plaintiffs were alleged to have
contributed to the damage was not the pivotal factor in either Bernstein or
Peniel—indeed, an apparent similarity between those cases is that in neither case
were the plaintiffs alleged to have caused any damage to the property, and this
court’s holding in Peniel was not premised on the plaintiffs’ status as innocent
purchasers of contaminated property.6 Rather, the crucial distinction between
those cases is that the Bernstein plaintiffs had never held any proprietary interest
in the contaminated site, while the Peniel plaintiffs were the owners and
operators of the property at issue. Because the Bernstein plaintiffs could not
possibly bring suit for damage to property they did not own, the six-year statute
of limitation applicable to claims for damage to real property did not apply.
The Peniel plaintiffs, on the other hand, sought to recover costs relating to the
remediation of their own property. Regardless of their role, if any, in causing
6
The Peniel court did not discuss whether the plaintiffs had contributed to the contamination in its analysis.
It only generally mentioned an ELA plaintiff’s potential liability or lack thereof in the context of holding that
ELA claims are not on their face contribution claims because the ELA allows a plaintiff to recover costs of
remediation without regard to the plaintiff’s part in causing the damage. 973 N.E.2d at 582.
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the damage to the real property at issue, their claim was inescapably one for
damage to that property.
[27] The same is true here. SSI is seeking recovery of costs incurred to remediate its
own property. No amount of careful wording or clever analysis can transform
what is so plainly a claim for damage to real property into one for contribution.
We also note the absurdity inherent in the approach SSI proposes—it would
subject an innocent purchaser of contaminated property to a shorter statute of
limitation than a property owner who had contributed to the property’s
damaged condition. Indeed, purchasers could theoretically extend the
applicable statute of limitation by releasing hazardous substances onto their
own property. We will not endorse such an illogical result. For all of these
reasons, we conclude that SSI’s ELA claim is, in substance, a claim for damage
to real property. See Cooper, 899 N.E.2d at 1284 (noting that “[t]he substance of
a cause of action, rather than its form, determines the applicability of the statute
of limitation”). As such, it is subject to the six-year statute of limitation set
forth in I.C. § 34-11-2-7.
2. Accrual of the ELA Claim
[28] Having concluded that SSI’s ELA claim is subject to the six-year statute of
limitation set forth in I.C. § 34-11-2-7, we now turn our attention to the
question of when the cause of action accrued. As our Supreme Court has
explained,
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[u]nder Indiana’s discovery rule, a cause of action accrues, and the
limitation period begins to run, when a claimant knows or in the
exercise of ordinary diligence should have known of the injury. The
determination of when a cause of action accrues is generally a question
of law. For an action to accrue, it is not necessary that the full extent of
the damage be known or even ascertainable, but only that some
ascertainable damage has occurred.
Cooper Indus., LLC v. City of South Bend, 899 N.E.2d 1274, 1280 (Ind. 2009)
(citations omitted). Moreover, a plaintiff has a duty under the discovery rule to
exercise reasonable diligence to discover negligent acts or omissions. Bambi’s
Roofing, Inc. v. Moriarty, 859 N.E.2d 347, 356 (Ind. Ct. App. 2006).
Accordingly, a claim will accrue “where the acts and circumstances of an injury
would put a person of common knowledge and experience on notice that some
right of his has been invaded or that some claim against another party might
exist.” Id.
[29] The trial court found that the undisputed facts establish that SSI had actual
knowledge sufficient to trigger the limitations period in July 1998. We reach
the same conclusion. The Former Operators designated evidence establishing
that that in May 1996—well before SSI purchased the property—an inspector
with the Marion County Health Department observed that removal of an old
AST basin and metal tanks had exposed “highly contaminated soil/some pools
of fluid on water.” Appellant’s Appendix at 167. The inspector interviewed
Schuchman, who stated that Hoosier Penn would be performing remediation in
the area. Hoosier Penn performed no such remediation. Moreover,
Schuchman testified in his deposition that he was aware that the property had
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been used previously as a storage facility for petroleum products and that he
had personally observed stained soil in the former AST area before SSI
purchased the Site. As a result, SSI had the top two feet of soil in that area
excavated and removed, but no follow-up testing was conducted to determine
the extent of the remaining contamination, if any. Schuchman testified that
“[t]esting should have been done,” but that after the soil was excavated, “[i]t
looked clean. So as far as we were concerned, it was clean.” Id. at 404.
Schuchman testified further that upon receiving the 1998 Phase I—which
indicated that the Site’s historical use as a bulk oil storage area with multiple
USTs and ASTs was a recognized environmental condition—he believed that
SSI was “stuck” with a potentially contaminated property.
[30] On appeal, SSI argues that Schuchman’s observation of surface soil staining
was not sufficient to put SSI on notice of potential contamination because the
staining was limited to a discrete area that was excavated prior to SSI’s
purchase of the Site. SSI does not mention, however, Schuchman’s own
testimony that follow-up testing should have been conducted, but that no such
testing occurred because the soil “looked clean.” Appellant’s Appendix at 404.
Even if we accept SSI’s assertion that Schuchman and SSI subjectively believed
the Site was clean based on the Wilcher Phase I and the excavation of the
stained soil, we must apply an objective standard in determining the accrual
date for its claims. See Martin Oil Mktg. Ltd. v. Katzioris, 908 N.E.2d 1183, 1188
(Ind. Ct. App. 2009) (explaining that “we apply an objective standard to the
plaintiff’s actions, not a subjective one”). We cannot conclude that a visual
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inspection by one of SSI’s principals following the removal of the stained soil
would satisfy a reasonable person in SSI’s position that any potential
contamination had been abated. Indeed, even Schuchman admitted that
“[t]esting should have been done[.]” Appellant’s Appendix at 404. Under these
facts and circumstances, we conclude that by July 1998 at the latest, SSI had
knowledge sufficient to trigger its duty to inquire further in order to determine
whether a legal wrong had occurred. See Martin Oil, 908 N.E.2d at 1188-89.
Because SSI filed its ELA claim in November 2009, well outside the applicable
six-year statute of limitation, the claim is time-barred.7
3. Recovery Under the PRS
[31] The PRS gives IDEM the authority to order a property owner or responsible
person to undertake remedial action with respect to a release of petroleum at a
petroleum facility, I.C. § 13-24-1-1(a), and, under certain circumstances, to
undertake remedial action itself. I.C. § 13-24-1-2. Specifically, Section 2 of the
PRS provides that IDEM may undertake removal or remedial action if:
(1) the action is necessary, in the judgment of the commissioner, to
protect human health and the environment; and
7
Because we conclude that the designated evidence establishes that SSI had actual knowledge sufficient to
trigger the running of the six-year statute of limitation by July 1998 at the latest, we need not consider the
trial court’s conclusions that SSI also had constructive knowledge of the contamination based on the
recorded Disclosure Document and that SSI is charged with the knowledge of its predecessors-in-title
concerning the contents of the Keramida CAP.
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(2) a person cannot be found not later than ninety (90) days after the
suspected or confirmed release is identified who is:
(A) an owner or operator of the petroleum facility or a
responsible person; and
(B) capable of properly carrying out removal or remedial
action with respect to the release.
Id. Additionally, IDEM may undertake remediation without delay in the event
of an emergency. I.C. § 13-24-1-2(c).
[32] Section 4 of the PRS provides that an owner or operator of a petroleum facility
is liable to the State for the costs of any remedial action taken pursuant to
section 2. I.C. § 13-24-1-2(a). Section 4 also provides a means by which an
owner, operator, or responsible party that is liable for the costs of remedial
action taken by the State may recover those costs from other responsible parties.
Specifically, Subsection 4(b) provides that:
The owner, operator, or responsible person is entitled to all rights of the
state to recover from another responsible person all or a part of the costs
described in subsection (a) incurred or paid to the state by the owner,
operator, or responsible person in an action brought in a circuit or
superior court with jurisdiction in the county in which the release
occurred.
[33] The trial court concluded that Section 4 did not permit SSI to recover costs
from the Former Operators pursuant to the PRS in this case because “[t]he
plain language of the statute limits private recovery to actions taken under
Section 2 of the statute and does not extend private actions to Section 6 or any
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other section of the statute.” Appellant’s Appendix at 35. Thus, the trial court
concluded that SSI had no private right of action under the PRS because “SSI
designated no evidence it incurred costs or paid the State for any actions
undertaken pursuant to [Section 2.]” Id. at 36. In other words, the trial court
concluded that because it was SSI that undertook remediation at IDEM’s
direction, as opposed to IDEM carrying out the remediation itself pursuant to
Section 2 and seeking to recover costs from SSI, the PRS did not permit SSI to
recover costs from third parties.
[34] On appeal, SSI does not dispute that its right to recover under Section 4 is
limited to costs related to action taken under Section 2. However, SSI takes
issue with the trial court’s interpretation of Section 2(a). 8 SSI argues that “[t]he
better and more logical reading is that SSI . . . may perform removal and
remedial action work at a non-emergency site when other responsible parties
have not stepped up within 90 days, and in that case SSI may via I.C. § 13-24-1-
4(b) seek reimbursement” just like IDEM. Appellant’s Brief at 27.
[35] We note, however, that our notions of what is “better” and “more logical” do
not trump the language of the PRS, which is in this case quite clear. Section
4(b) provides that an owner, operator, or responsible person is entitled to
recover from other persons all or part of the costs described in section 4(a).
Section 4(a) provides that an owner, operator, or responsible party is liable to
8
SSI makes no argument that action was taken pursuant to the emergency provision of Section 2(c).
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the state for the costs of remedial action taken under section 2. In turn, section
2 sets forth the circumstances under which the state may undertake remedial
action with respect to a petroleum facility release. These sections work together
to demonstrate that the PRS extends a limited right of recovery to private
parties. It allows an owner, operator, or responsible party to recover from
another responsible party where the State has incurred remediation costs
pursuant to section 2 and passed those costs on to the owner, operator, or
responsible party seeking recovery. Because IDEM did not incur remedial costs
pursuant to section 2 of the PRS, and consequently passed no costs on to SSI
pursuant to section 4(a), SSI cannot recover from other responsible parties
pursuant to section 4(b).
[36] Because we find the language of the PRS clear and unambiguous, we may not
engage in judicial construction. See Siwinski v. Town of Ogden Dunes, 949 N.E.2d
825, 828 (Ind. 2011) (noting that “[i]f a statute is clear and unambiguous on its
face, no room exists for judicial construction”). Nevertheless, we note that we
are unpersuaded by SSI’s argument that a broader construction is necessary to
prevent the absurdity of “requir[ing] property owners to thumb their noses at
IDEM upon receipt of a [PRS] demand, lest that property owner get stuck
holding the bag when it tries to pass on some or all of its costs to ‘another
responsible person.’” Appellant’s Brief at 28. This argument presumes that the
PRS is the only means by which property owners may recover remediation
costs relating to a petroleum facility release from other responsible parties. This
is simply not the case. The ELA allows an owner of property contaminated by
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a petroleum facility release to bring an action to recover remediation costs from
another person that caused or contributed to the release. See Cooper, 899 N.E.2d
at 1281 (noting that the ELA “overlaps in some ways” with the USTA and the
PRS). We are not at liberty to construe the PRS more broadly than its language
allows so as to relieve SSI of the consequences of its failure to file its ELA claim
within the applicable limitation period.
Conclusion
[37] For all of these reasons, we conclude that the trial court correctly concluded
that SSI’s ELA claim is time-barred and that the PRS does not provide SSI with
a right to recover from the Former Operators under the circumstances of this
case. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court’s partial summary judgment order
on those claims.
[38] Judgment affirmed.
[39] Robb, J. and Barnes, J., concur.
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