DocketNumber： 18-2598
Judges： Kanne
Filed Date： 3/6/2019
Status： Precedential
Modified Date： 3/6/2019
In the United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit ____________________ Nos. 18-1918 & 18-2598 WILLIAM LIEBHART & NANCY LIEBHART, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. SPX CORPORATION, TRC ENVIRONMENTAL CORPORATION, & APOLLO DISMANTLING SERVICES, INC. Defendants-Appellees. ____________________ Appeals from the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin. No. 16-cv-700 — James D. Peterson, Chief Judge. ____________________ ARGUED DECEMBER 4, 2018 — DECIDED MARCH 6, 2019 ____________________ Before BAUER, KANNE, and BRENNAN, Circuit Judges. KANNE, Circuit Judge. William and Nancy Liebhart to- gether own three houses on the same block in Watertown, Wisconsin. Besides a few other houses, the rest of the block was previously occupied by an abandoned transformer fac- tory, last owned by SPX Corporation. In 2014, SPX demol- ished the building with the assistance of TRC Environmental Corporation and Apollo Dismantling Services (collectively, 2 Nos. 18-1918 & 18-2598 “the defendants”). The Liebharts allege that dust and debris containing toxic chemicals migrated onto their properties, contaminating their yards and jeopardizing their health and the health of their tenants. The Liebharts sued under federal statutes authorizing pri- vate rights of action for environmental contamination. They also brought various state-law claims. Following discovery and the submission of expert witness reports, the district court denied the Liebharts’ motion for partial summary judg- ment and granted summary judgment to the defendants with costs. Although the district court adequately evaluated the ex- pert witnesses and did not abuse its discretion in its proce- dural decisions, the court set the bar unnecessarily high for ȱěȱȱ ȱȱȱȱȱȱȱȬ utes. For that reason, we vacate the district court’s judgment and remand for reconsideration. I. BACKGROUND The factory dates to the 1920s and was used to manufac- ture various industrial equipment. Most relevant to our pur- pose, the factory manufactured power transformers contain- ing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), a carcinogenic chemi- cal banned by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1979. See Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) Manufacturing, Pro- cessing, Distribution in Commerce, and Use Prohibitions, 44 FǯȱǯȱřŗǰśŗŚȱǻ¢ȱřŗǰȱŗşŝşǼȱǻęȱȱŚŖȱǯǯǯȱpt. 761). The parties all agree that the facility has not manufactured or handled any items containing PCBs since 1971, and that it shut down completely in 2005. But even with all the products and manufacturing equip- ment removed, PCB contaminants remained in the facility. In Nos. 18-1918 & 18-2598 3 2009, SPX retained TRC and another company (not named as a defendant in this suit) to study the property and determine the extent and precise location of any PCB contamination. ȱȱȱȱ ȱ ȱ Ěȱ ȱȱ ¢ȱ was generally contaminated, with concentrated amounts lo- catȱȱęȱȱȱȱǯ Several years went by. In 2014, SPX decided to move ahead with the demolition, retaining Apollo to conduct the work and TRC to supervise the project. That November, the defend- ants timely proposed a self-implementing cleanup plan to the EPA, as required by40 C.F.R. § 761.61
(a). The trouble began as demolition commenced in January 2015. The Liebharts al- lege that Apollo demolished the building recklessly, failing to use appropriate safety methods to control the dust generated by demolition equipment. They assert that their properties ȱȱȱǰȱȱ¢ȱĴȱȱof photos and videos of dust from the facility blowing toward their homes to support their allegation. ȱȱęȱȱȱ th the local government in February. They also collected a dust-covered sample of snow from their yard and placed it in a mason jar. Soon there- after, a representative of the Wisconsin Department of Natu- ral Resources (“DNR”) contacted the defendants about the Liebharts’ concerns. In April, TRC collected samples of the surface soil (roughly down to eight inches below ground) on both the industrial and residential properties. Sure enough, the properties tested positive for the presence of PCBs. In Au- gust, the Liebharts vacated the property on advice of their physician to avoid further exposure to the chemicals. Frus- trated with the lack of action, William Liebhart had the snow 4 Nos. 18-1918 & 18-2598 sample tested for PCBs. Although the sample did, in fact, con- tain PCBs, the irregular manner of collection and storage spoiled the sample, and the laboratory declined to endorse the ȱ ȱ¢ȱęǯ In September 2015ǰȱȱĴȱȱȱȱȱȱ contamination to the DNR. In turn, the Liebharts sued in fed- eral district court in October. The complaint sought injunctive relief under both the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA),42 U.S.C. § 6901
et seq., and the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA),15 U.S.C. § 2601
et seq. In addition, the Liebharts brought a host of state-law claims under supple- mental jurisdiction, including strict liability, negligence, tres- ǰȱǰȱȱȱĚȱȱȱǯ During discoveryǰȱȱȱĴȱȱȱȬ ing for PCBs both in their yard and inside their home. They also underwent blood testing. Although the external surveys revealed a more comprehensive picture of the extent to which the soil on the Liebharts’ properties contained PCBs, the in- ternal sampling and blood tests were both negative for con- tamination. The Liebharts later learned in October 2017 that the defendants allegedly buried some of the concrete remains on-site rather than removing them to a toxic waste dump as required by the EPA-approved clean-up plan. The parties prepared and Ĵȱȱȱȱȱ¡Ȭ pert witnesses who were to testify at trial. Among those, three ȱȱȱȱǯȱǰȱȱȱĴȱ a report by John Woodyard, a licensed professional engineer. His report included a description of standard methods used when demolishing PCB-contaminated buildings and an anal- ysis of the purported ways in which the defendants deviated from those practices, thereby causing the contamination of the Nos. 18-1918 & 18-2598 5 residences. The Liebharts’ second expert was Dr. David Car- penter, a public health physician who opined on ways in which the Liebharts might have been exposed to PCBs and the ȱȱěȱȱȱ¡ǯȱ ȱȱ that “there is no ‘safe’ level of exposure to PCBs that does not increase the risk of disease.” Finally, the defendants submit- ted a report prepared by Dr. Russell Keenan, a toxicologist who analyzed the survey data and determined that it was im- possible to determine whether the presence of PCBs on the Liebharts’ property was due to the recent demolition or to ěȱȱȱȱȱȱȱ. In December 2017, the Liebharts moved for partial sum- mary judgment on the issue of causation, reserving the issue of damages for a jury trial. The defendants cross-moved for summary judgmentDzȱ¢ȱȱęȱȱȱȱ¡ȱȱ ¢ȱȱě’ experts Woodyard and Carpenter un- der Fed. R. Evid. 702. In February 2018, after those motions were fully briefed to the court, the Liebharts sought leave to amend their complaint. In light of the information they ob- tained through discovery regarding the burial of concrete on the property, they intended to allege separate RCRA and TSCA violations and seek an enlargement of the proposed in- junction to include removal of that material. The district court issued its decisions on March 30. First, the court granted in part the defendants’ motion to exclude the ě’ expert witness reports. The court explained that Woodyard’s report was “equivocal” as to the issue of causa- tion; it hedged on whether the contaminants came from dem- ȱ ȱ ȱ ěȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ǯȱ See Liebhart v. SPX Corp., No. 16-cv-700-jdp,2018 WL 1583296
at 6 Nos. 18-1918 & 18-2598 *3–4 (W.D. Wis. Mar. 30, 2018). Second, the report “over- look[ed] tȱȱęȱ” and failed to account for “obvious alternative explanations” in determining the cause of the contamination.Id. at *4
(quoting Fed. R. Evid. 702 ¢ȱĴ’s note to 2000 amendments). Finally, the court noted that Woodyard’s report depended on “unreliable or uninformative” evidence, including the Liebharts’ defec- ȱ ȱǰȱ ȱĴȱȱȱȱȱȱ clippings and a chromatogram that allegedly detected PCBs on the property.Id.
at *4–5. For those reasons, the court ex- cluded Woodyard’s report in its entirety.Id. at *5
. ȱȱȱĴȱȱȱ¢ȱȱǯȱȬ penter’s report, it struck Carpenter’s conclusion that “there is no ‘safe’ level of exposure to PCBs that does not increase the risk of disease” as unsupported by the medical studies he cited.Id. at *5
. In doing so, the court pointed to the absence of PCBs inside the Liebharts’ home and in their blood, suggest- ing that the Liebharts had not actually been exposed to PCBs ȱȱȱȱȱěȱǯȱId. at 5–6. ȱȱ¡ȱ¢ȱěȱȱǰȱȱȱȱ concluded that the Liebharts failed to present any admissible evidence to support their RCRA and TSCA claims. The re- maining photos and videos certainly showed dust migrating onto the Liebharts’ property, but there was no reliable evi- dence proving that the dust contained PCBs. Given that any PCBs detected in the soil may have been there prior to the demolition, the lack of evidence doomed the Liebharts’ case. ȱȱȱȱ¢ȱȱȱȱě, granted summary judgment to the defendants on the federal claims, and dismissed the state-law claims without prejudice. Nos. 18-1918 & 18-2598 7 The district court also denied the Liebharts’ petition for leave to amend their complaint on two grounds. First, alt- ȱȱȱ ȱȱȱěȱȱ the factual basis for the new counts over a year ȱęȱȱ initial complaint, it also noted that they took an additional four months thereafter to seek leave to amend. During that ȱ ǰȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ Ĵȱ ȱ ȱ their motions for summary judgment, and the trial date was fast approaching. It found their petition untimely. Second, the district court determined that the new claims were futile un- der both statutes' advance-notice requirements. The ěȱ¢ȱ. Several months after the judgment, the clerk of the district court imposed costs on the Liebharts in the amount of $46,320.02. The Liebharts sep- arately appealed that decision. We consolidated the two ap- peals and now consider them together. II. ANALYSIS The ȱȱęȱȱȱȱǯȱǰȱ they argue that the district court erred in excluding the opin- ions of expert witnesses Woodyard in full and Carpenter in part. As part of that argument, they allege that the district court failed to apply the same stringent standard to the de- fendants’ expert Keenan. Second, they contend that summary judgment was inappropriate because, even absent the testi- ¢ȱȱȱ¡ȱ ǰȱ¢ȱĴȱȱȬ ȱȱęȱȱȱȱȱȱȱȱ RCRA and TSCA. Third, they challenge the district court’s de- ȱȱȱȱȱȱȱęȱ¢ have iden- ęȱȱ’s state-approved clean-up plan. Fourth, they ar- gue that the district court abused its discretion in denying 8 Nos. 18-1918 & 18-2598 leave to amend their complaint. Finally, they challenge the imposition of costs. But there’s a larger issue looming in the background. The district court’s opinion operates under the assumption that ȱ ěs must demonstrate “an imminent and sub- stantial danger with evidence of health problems they have ¢ȱ ěǯ” Liebhart,2018 WL 1583296
at *6. Relying primarily on Foster v. United States,922 F. Supp. 642
(D.D.C. ŗşşŜǼǰȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ěǰȱ holding that “it doesn’t follow necessarily that there is an im- minent and substantial risk of harm simply because there is some amount of PCBs on the property.” Liebhart2018 WL 1583296
at *5. We review that question of law, which was the underlying basis for the award of summary judgment, de novo. Daugherty v. Harrington,906 F.3d 606
, 609 (7th Cir. 2018). A. RCRA Requires Only that Harm “May” Be Imminent ȱȱȱ ȱȱȱȱěȱȱȱȱ make out a prima facie violation of RCRA has led to much dis- cussion among the circuits. We have yet to tackle that issue head on, so the district court necessarily had to look else- where for guidance. Passed in 1976, “RCRA is a comprehen- sive environmental statute that empowers [the] EPA to regu- late hazardous wastes from cradle to grave.” City of Chicago v. Envtl. Def. Fund,511 U.S. 328
, 331 (1994). The statute’s “pri- mary purpose … is to reduce the generation of hazardous waste and to ensure the proper treatment, storage, and dis- posal of that waste which is nonetheless generated, ‘so as to minimize the present and future threat to human health and the environment.’” Meghrig v. KFC Western, Inc.,516 U.S. 479
, 483 (1996) (quoting42 U.S.C. § 6902
(b)). Nos. 18-1918 & 18-2598 9 Although the EPA has the primary responsibility for en- forcing the law, the statute, “like other environmental laws, … contains a citizen suit provision, § 6972, which permits pri- vate citizens to enforce its provisions in some circumstances.” Id. at 484. As relevant to this case, the statute provides that any person may commence a civil action on his own behalf … against any person, … including … any past or present owner or operator of a treatment, storage, or disposal facility, who has contributed or who is contributing to the past or present handling, storage, treatment, transportation, or disposal of any solid or hazardous waste which may present an im- minent and substantial endangerment to health or the environment.42 U.S.C. § 6972
(a)(1)(B) (emphasis added). Notably, Con- gress amended the language in 1980 by substituting the phrase “may present” for the original 1976 wording “is pre- senting.” Maine People’s All. and Nat. Res. Def. Council v. Mallinckrodt, Inc.,471 F.3d 277
, 287 (1st Cir. 2006) (citing Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1980, Pub. L. 96–482, § 25,94 Stat. 2334
, 2348). The section authorizes district courts to grant injunctive relief and “order [a violator] to take such other action as may be necessary” to remediate the endangerment. Id.; see also Me- ghrig,516 U.S. at 484
(“Under a plain reading of this remedial scheme, a private citizen suing under § 6972(a)(1)(B) could seek a mandatory injunction, i.e., one that orders a responsible party to ‘take action’ ¢ȱĴȱȱȱȱȱȱ disposal of toxic waste, or a prohibitory injunction, i.e., one that ‘restrains’ a responsible party from further violating RCRA.”); Avondale Fed. Sav. Bank v. Amoco Oil Co.,170 F.3d 692
, 694 (7th Cir. 1999). 10 Nos. 18-1918 & 18-2598 The critical question in this case is how to determine whether alleged contamination “may present an imminent and substantial endangerment to health.” § 6972(a)(1)(b). We touched on this question only brĚ¢ȱȱAlbany Bank & Trust Co. v. Exxon Mobil Corp.,310 F.3d 969
, 973 (7th Cir. 2002). ǰȱ ȱ ęȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ prima facie RCRA claim: “a ěȱȱȱǻŗǼȱȱȱȱȱȬ erated solid or hazardous waste, (2) that the defendant is con- tributing to or has contributed to the handling of this waste, and (3) that this waste may present an imminent and substan- tial danger to health or the environment.”Id.
(citing Cox v. City of Dallas,256 F.3d 281
, 282 (5th Cir. 2001)). We then ob- ǰȱȱȱęȱǰȱȱ“[i]mminence does not require an existing harm, only an ongoing threat of future harm.”Id.
(citing Cox,256 F.3d at 299
). That is the extent of our circuit precedent on the “may present” language con- tained in § 6972(a)(1)(B). But our sister circuits have engaged with this question in ȱǯȱ ȱȱęȱȱȱȱȱǰȱ the Third Circuit emphasized that the statute “enhanced the courts’ traditional equitable powers by authorizing the issu- ance of injunctions when there is but a risk of harm, a more lenient standard than the traditional requirement of threat- ened irreparable harm.” United States v. Price,688 F.2d 204
, 211 (3d Cir. 1982). The court found the statutory language “unequivocal,” demonstrating that Congress “intended to ȱȱȱȱȱ¢ȱȱȱĜȱȬ uitable relief to the extent necessary to eliminate” the risks posed by toxic waste.Id.
at 213–14. In the subsequent decades, several other circuits adopted and further developed the same interpretation of § 6972. See Nos. 18-1918 & 18-2598 11 Mallinckrodt,471 F.3d at 277
; Dague v. City of Burlington,935 F.2d 1343
, 1355–56 (2d Cir. 1991), rev’d in part on other grounds,502 U.S. 1071
(1992); Interfaith Cmty. Org. v. Honeywell Int’l, Inc.,399 F.3d 248
(3d Cir. 2005); United States v. Waste Indus., Inc.,734 F.2d 159
, 165 (4th Cir. 1984) (rejecting the argument that “[§ 6972] was designed to control pollution only in emer- gency situations”); Cox,256 F.3d at
299–301; Price v. United States Navy,39 F.3d 1011
, 1019 (9th Cir. 1994); Burlington N. and Santa Fe Ry. Co. v. Grant,505 F.3d 1013
, 1019–22 (10th Cir. 2007); Parker v. Scrap Metal Processors, Inc.,386 F.3d 993
, 1014– 15 (11th Cir. 2004). We now join those courts and explicitly embrace the core content of their interpretation. The district court therefore used an incorrect legal stand- ard to evaluate the Liebharts’ argument that PCBs from the demolition may present an imminent and substantial danger to their health and that of their tenants. It did not cite any of the cases we listed above, but instead relied on a single district court decision from a circuit that has not yet addressed the issue. See Liebhart,2018 WL 1583296
at *5 (quoting Foster,922 F. Supp. at 662
(“While there can be no question that the levels of contamination present at the Site may warrant future re- ȱ ǰȱ ȱ ěȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ risk of substantial or serious threatened harm, or some neces- sity for action.”)). That error undercuts several of the reasons the district court gave for rejecting the Liebharts’ RCRA claim. For exam- ple, the district court cursorily adopted a passing statement we made over twenty-ę years ago that “[t]he [EPA’s] ac- cepted safe level of PCBs in the ȱȱę¢ȱȱȱ million,”id.
(quoting Cincinnati Ins. Co. v. Flanders Elec. Motor 12 Nos. 18-1918 & 18-2598 Serv., Inc.,40 F.3d 146
, 148 (7th Cir. 1994)), to create a require- ment that the Liebharts show that PCB contamination on their property met that threshold. But there is no requirement in ȱȱȱěȱȱȱ“a particular quantitative show- ing as a sine qua non for liability.” Interfaith,399 F.3d at 260
; see also Dague,935 F.2d at 1356
. Only one circuit has come to an arguably contrary conclusion. In Price v. United States Navy,818 F. Supp. 1323
, 1325 (S.D. Cal. 1992), ě’d39 F.3d 1011
(9th ǯȱŗşşŚǼǰȱȱȱȱȱȱěȱȱ ȱ that “the level of contaminants [was] above levels that are con- sidered acceptable by the State.” But as the Interfaith court noted, the Ninth Circuit’ȱ ȱ Ĝȱ ȱ ȱ court’s judgment did not discuss that requirement. RCRA ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ěs demonstrate contamination above some agency-derived threshold level of concentration.399 F.3d at
260–61. It merely requires that they show that con- taminants on the property are seriously dangerous to human health (or will be, given prolonged exposure over time). See Cox,256 F.3d at
299–300 (“an endangerment is ‘substantial’ if it is ‘serious’” (quoting United States Navy,39 F.3d at 1019
)). That’s especially true when the standard is taken out of context. The district court relied on Cincinnati Ins. Co. to sup- port its contention that contamination below the threshold ȱȱę¢ȱȱȱȱ(“ppm”) does not qualify as a regulatory violation, thereby contradicting Woodyard’s opin- ion regarding safe levels of PCBs and providing the grounds for excluding it. In that case, we evaluated whether an insur- ance company was required to indemnify its insured for dam- ages arising out of PCB contamination at an industrial site. ȱȱȱęȱȱȱȱ¢ȱȱȱ the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA),42 U.S.C. § 9601
et seq. In Nos. 18-1918 & 18-2598 13 that context, we noted that the contaminated site contained PCBs concentrated at levels up to 58,000 ppm, well above the EPA’ȱȱ¢ȱȱȱę¢ȱǯȱŚŖȱF.3d at 148 (citing40 C.F.R. § 761.60
). ȱ ȱ ǰȱȱȱěȱ¢ǰȱęȱ Ȭ trial equipment and other wastes contaminated at levels above ę¢ȱppm and requires special procedures for their stor- age and disposal. It does not unequivocally state that PCBs ȱȱȱ ȱȱę¢ȱȱȱȱȱȱ exposure. Neither Cincinnati Ins. Co. nor the EPA regulation stand for the proposition that PCBs concentrated at forty-nine ppm on residential property do not present a substantial endan- germent to the health of the residents. That is especially ap- parent when we consider that the same set of regulations dis- tinguishes between low and high-occupancy areas and re- quires that, in high-occupancy areas, bulk PCB remediation waste, such as soil, be cleaned up to levels of concentration at or below one ppm. § 761.61(a)(4)(i)(A). Section ŝŜŗǯřȱęȱ that the term “high-occupancy area” includes residences. See also § ŝŜŗǯŗŘřȱǻȱȱȱȱȱȱę¢ȱ ppm or greater but emphasizing that “[t]he concentration of PCBs spilled is determined by the PCB concentration in the material spilled as opposed to the concentration of PCBs in the material onto which the PCBs were spilled”). “Proof of contamination in excess of [agency] standards may support a ęȱȱ¢ǰȱȱ¢ȱȱĜȱȱ¢ȱȱȱ ǰȱȱȱȱȱȱ ȱęȱȱȱȬ ute.” Interfaith,399 F.3d at 261
. This is not to say that ȱȱěȱȱȱȱȱshow some bit of soil on their property that tests positive for PCBs 14 Nos. 18-1918 & 18-2598 above one ppm (or even above the purported lower Wiscon- sin DNR standard, which the defendants seem to have acknowledged in their state-approved clean-up plan). Of course, there must be accompanying evidence that establishes some connection between the existing contaminants and some imminent and substantial endangerment to health. 1 But ȱ ȱ Ĵȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ǰȱ ȱ ȱ district court held the bar higher than necessary under RCRA’s standard. In criticizing expert witness Carpenter’s statement that “there is no ‘safe’ level of exposure to PCBs that does not increase the risk of disease,” the district court re- jected Carpenter’s citation to studies showing the general risks of PCB exposure because “the Liebharts do not cite any evidence that they have been exposed to PCBs.” Liebhart,2018 WL 1583296
at *5. Moreover, the district court concluded that “[t]he Liebharts do not contend that they can prove an immi- nent and substantial danger with evidence of health problems ¢ȱȱ¢ȱěǯ”Id. at *6
. As we noted in Albany Bank, “[i]mminence does not re- quire an existing harm, only an ongoing threat of future 1 On appeal, the Liebharts contend that there is no separate require- ment for expert witness testimony because the photos and videos they have submitted into evidence suffice to prove their RCRA claim. The de- fendants push back on that argument, insisting that many of the issues are beyond the competence of lay fact-finders and require the assistance of experts to address. See, e.g., C.W. ex rel. Wood v. Textron, Inc.,807 F.3d 827
, 838 (7th Cir. 2015) (“Given the complex nature of this case, … [and w]ith no experts to prove causation … the appellants cannot prove their toxic- tort case under [state] law.”) Because the district court did not make a fac- tual finding as to whether this case is sufficient complex to require expert testimony, and because we remand for reconsideration of a separate legal issue, we need not reach that question today. Nos. 18-1918 & 18-2598 15 harm.”310 F.3d at 973
. Although the Supreme Court has in- structed that “[a]n endangerment can only be ‘imminent’ if it ‘threaten[s] to occur immediately,’” Meghrig,516 U.S. at 485
(quoting Webster’s New Int’l Dictionary of English Language ŗŘŚśȱǻŘȱǯȱŗşřŚǼǼǰȱȱęȱȱȱ ȱȱȬ ingly quoted the Ninth Circuit’s interpretation that the statu- tory term “implies that there must be a threat which is present now, although the impact of the threat may not be felt until later.”Id. at 486
(quoting United States Navy,39 F.3d at 1019
). We take that to mean that the Liebharts must show that there are PCBs currently on the property that have the potential to substantially threaten their health at some point in the future if they continue to occupy the premises and prolong their ex- posure. On remand, the district court should reevaluate its ex- clusion of Dr. Carpenter’s assertion regarding PCB safety un- der the standards we have outlined above and determine whether, if admissible, the report demonstrates that a sub- stantial and imminent threat to the Liebharts’ health may be present. B. TSCA Likewise Requires No Heightened Showing TSCA authorizes a separate, private cause of action allow- ing “any person [to] commence a civil action … against any person … who is alleged to be in violation of … any rule promulgated under” the Act.15 U.S.C. § 2619
(a)(1). The EPA promulgated the PCB regulations in question pursuant to statutory authority under TSCA, designating PCBs as “haz- ardous waste” and controlling their manufacture, use, stor- age, and disposal. See 40 C.F.R. pt. 761. The Liebharts’ TSCA claim alleged that the defendants violated those regulations, thereby authorizing the district court to “restrain [the] viola- tion.” § 2619(a). Unlike RCRA, which authorizes mandatory 16 Nos. 18-1918 & 18-2598 injunctions to compel remediation of previous violations, TSCA authorizes only prohibitory injunctions to stop ongoing violations. Id. The defendants argued that there was no longer an ongoing violation, as demolition was complete by the time ȱȱęȱȱǯ 2 The purported violation was based on40 C.F.R. § 761.123
, which, as we noted above, regulates “spills” of PCB materials ȱȱȱȱę¢ȱǯȱ district court cor- rectly noted that the Liebharts had not shown any evidence that any PCBs had been “spilled” onto their property (by means of dust migration) at that level of concentration, and it granted summary judgment to the defendants on that basis. But the district court seems to have overlooked the follow- ing sentence in the regulation, which directs that “[t]he con- centration of PCBs spilled is determined by the PCB concen- tration in the material spilled as opposed to the concentration of the material onto which the PCBs were spilled.”Id.
The Liebharts’ complaint seems to have alleged that the concrete Ěȱȱȱ¢ǰȱ ȱȱȱȱȱȬ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ę¢-ppm threshold, was demolished and “spilled” onto the Liebharts’ property. By the plain text of the regulation, there is no need to show that contaminants on the Liebharts’ property are themselves concentrated above ę¢ȱȱȱȱȱȱȱȱȱ ȱȱȱ of that spill met the criteria. On remand, the district court may again determine that there is no ongoing violation, but it must 2 The district court determined that the Liebharts waived this claim by failing to engage the defendants’ argument that there was no “ongoing violation.” But the court chose to analyze the merits of the claim regardless of waiver and reached its conclusion on an alternative basis. We likewise set aside the issue of waiver to reach the district court’s merits analysis. Nos. 18-1918 & 18-2598 17 ęȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ the meaning of § 761.123 ȱȱęȱ. C. The District Court Should Reconsider the Remaining Issues on Remand ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ęȱ ȱ standard ȱ ěȱ must meet, we turn to the remaining procedural issues the Liebharts have asked to us to address. 1. The District Court did not Abuse Its Discretion in Excluding Woodyard’s Testimony “The summary-judgment decision here turned [in large part] on the district court’s conclusion that [the] expert testi- mony was inadmissible. Whether the district court applied the appropriate legal framework for evaluating expert testi- mony is reviewed de novo, but the court’s choice of relevant factors within that framework and its ultimate conclusion as to admissibility are reviewed for abuse of discretion.” Lees v. Carthage College,714 F.3d 516
, 520 (7th Cir. 2013). When a dis- trict court is “[Ǿȱ ȱȱěȱȱ¡ȱęȱȬ mony … the trial judge must determine at the outset … ȱ ȱ ¡ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ¢ȱ ȱ ǻŗǼȱ ęȱ knowledge that (2) will assist the trier of fact to understand or determine a fact in issue.” Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharm., Inc.,509 U.S. 579
, 592 (1993). “The trial court must have … latitude in deciding how to test an expert’s reliability.” Kumho Tire Co., Ltd. v. Carmichael,526 U.S. 137
, 152 (1999). The district court was well within its discretion to exclude the ěȱ¢ȱȱ¡ȱ ȱ¢ǯȱ¢ȱ ȱȱȱȱěȱȱȱȱ ȱȱȬ sue in the district court by failing to engage with the defend- ants’ arguments in their motion to strike the testimony, 18 Nos. 18-1918 & 18-2598 Woodyard’s analysis sěȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ Ě ȱ ȱ ȱ from the way in which the parties have framed this lawsuit. ȱȱȱĚ¢ȱȱȱȱȱȱ“both sides assume that none of the defendants can be held liable for any PCB contamination on the Liebharts’ property that occurred before the demolition began, so the court will make the same assumption.” Liebhart,2018 WL 1583296
at *1. That’s a curious choice. RCRA permits the Liebharts to obtain injunctive relief from the owner of the facility for any cognizable contamina- tion, regardless of whether the PCBs migrated onto their property before or after the demolition occurred. See42 U.S.C. § 6972
(a)(1)(B) (authorizing suit against “any person … who has contributed … to the past or present handling … or dis- posal” of hazardous waste); see also Meghrig,516 U.S. at 486
(“RCRA contains no statute of limitations.”). But because the Liebharts restricted their claims to PCBs that allegedly migrated onto their property via the dust from the 2015 demolition, they necessarily excluded claims result- ing from PCBs that may ȱĴȱȱȱ¢ȱȬ ing the previous century. The district court correctly noted that Woodyard’s expert opinion could not distinguish be- tween these two alternatives, as both sets of contaminants originated from the same source. There was even evidence showing that PCBs existed in the soil beneath the Liebharts’ asphalt driveway—Woodyard could not explain how that might have occurred as the result of dust blowing in the wind as opposed to seepage over the course of years before any demolition occurred. Perhaps the Liebharts decided to frame their claims in this way because they wanted to go after defendants TRC and Apollo, who would not be liable for what happened before Nos. 18-1918 & 18-2598 19 demolition. Or perhaps some element of their state-law claims, which we have not addressed, required them to con- strict the scope. They did not explain their reasoning to us (or it seems, to the district court). But the distinction makes it dif- ęȱȱ¢ȱȱȱȱǰȱȱȱȱȱȱ “adequately account[] for obvious alternative explanations.” ȱǯȱ Ĵ-Packard Co.,877 F.3d 771
, 787 (7th Cir. 2017). Viewed in this light, the district court was within its discretion to exclude the testimony as unreliable and unhelp- ful to the trier of fact. The district court may choose to rethink that evaluation on remand under the legal standards we out- lined above, but it may well reach the same conclusion. 2. The District Court Should Reconsider Its Denial of Injunctive Relief The district court denied injunctive relief to the Liebharts because the defendants had already agreed to a clean-up plan that had been approved by the Wisconsin DNR. We review that decision for an abuse of discretion. See AMI Int’l, Inc. v. Datacard Corp.106 F.3d 1342
, 1352 (7th Cir. 1997) (remanding grant of RCRA injunction). As we mentioned above, RCRA authorizes district courts to issue either mandatory or prohibitory injunctions, while TSCA authorizes only prohibitory injunctions. “[I]t is appro- priate ‘to give great deference to the district court’s decision as to the precise equitable relief necessary in a particular case.’” Bowes v. Ind. Sec. of State,837 F.3d 813
, 817 (7th Cir. 2016) (quoting Gjersten v. Bd. Of Election Com’rs for City of Chi- cago,791 F.2d 472
, 479 (7th Cir. 1986)). That is especially true ȱȱěȱȱȱ¢ȱǰȱ ȱ“im- ȱęȱȱȱȱȱȱȱȬ ful consideration of the intrusiveness of the ordered act, as 20 Nos. 18-1918 & 18-2598 ȱȱȱĜȱȱ¢ȱȱȱin supervising the enjoined party’s compliance with the court’s order.” Kart- man v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co.,634 F.3d 883
, 892 (7th Cir. 2011). Considering SPX’s decision to formulate a clean-up plan and obtain approval from the state agency, the district court determined that there was no need for separate, federally-su- pervised remediation. It reached that conclusion even while assuming that the defendants were in violation of either RCRA or TSCA, despite the fact it found no such violation. Other courts have determined that the existence of a parallel plan of remediation supervised by the state does not neces- sarily prevent a federal district court from granting an injunc- ȱȱȱęȱȱȱ¢’ȱȱȱȱĜȱȱ remedy the violation of federal law. See, e.g., Interfaith,399 F.3d at
264–68. On the other hand, the same courts have also upheld denials of injunctions in similar situations when the ȱ ȱ ęȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ task. See Trinity Indus., Inc. v. Chicago Bridge & Iron Co.,735 F.3d 131
, 139–40 (3d Cir. 2013) (distinguishing Interfaith). We recently reached the same conclusion. See LAJIM, LLC v. Gen. Elec. Co., No. 18-1522,2019 WL 1011021
, at *4–11 (7th Cir. Mar. 4, 2019) (“[T]he district court correctly held that it has discre- tion to award injunctive relief under the RCRA and is not re- ȱȱȱȱȱȱęȱȱ¢ǰ” particularly in light of ongoing relief supervised by a state environmental agency). Here, the district court determined that SPX’s existing ȱ ȱ Ĝ and that the Liebharts had not “iden- tif[ied] any way that SPX’ȱȱǽ ǾȱęȱȱǽǾȱ Nos. 18-1918 & 18-2598 21 federal law.” Liebhart,2018 WL 1583296
at *7. We agree. Alt- hough the Liebharts point to certain statistical sampling re- quirements outlined in40 C.F.R. § 761.125
and contend that SPX’s existing plan fails to meet those requirements, the dis- trict court noted that SPX’s plan includes further sampling of the soil on the Liebharts’ property. It emphasized that “the Liebharts do not otherwise explain why SPX’s proposed sam- pling scheme is substantively inadequate.” Liebhart,2018 WL 1583296
at *7. We see no evidence that compels us to contra- ȱȱȱęǯ However, in light of the legal standards we outlined above, we ask the district court to reconsider its decision to deny injunctive relief on remand. Because the bar for estab- lishing an imminent and substantial danger is lower than the district court believed when evaluating the request for an in- junction, it would be prudent to reassess whether the DNR- approved plan adequately remedies harms that may come within RCRA’s scope. See LAJIM,2019 WL 1011021
at *6 (“[Ǿȱȱȱęȱȱȱȱȱȱȱȱȱ imminent and substantial danger, it will usually be the case that injunctive relief is warranted. But that is not always the case.”) ǻȱȱȱȱĴǼǯ 3. The District Court did not Abuse Its Discretion in Denying Leave to Amend the Complaint. We review a denial of leave to amend a complaint for abuse of discretion. Life Plans, Inc. v. Sec. Life of Denver Ins. Co.,800 F.3d 343
, 357 (7th Cir. 2015). District courts are to “freely give leave [to amend] when justice so requires.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 15(a)(2). “The Supreme Court has interpreted this rule to require a district court to allow amendment unless there is a good reason—futility, undue delay, undue prejudice, or bad 22 Nos. 18-1918 & 18-2598 faith—for denying leave to amend.” Life Plans, 800 F.3d at 357 (citing Foman v. Davis,371 U.S. 178
, 182 (1962)). The district ȱȱȱȱęȱ ȱȱȱȱȱȱȱ denial: futility and undue delay. While we disagree with the ¢ȱ¢ǰȱ ȱȱ ȱȱęȱȱȱ¢ȱ and decline to reverse. We begin with the question of futility. Both statutes con- tain advance-ȱȱȱ£ȱěȱȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ęȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ǯȱ ¢ȱ ȱ ȱěȱȱ¢ȱȱȱ60–90 ¢ȱȱȱȱęȬ ing the complaint.42 U.S.C. § 6972
(b)(2);15 U.S.C. § 2619
(b)(1)(A). But the district court chose to apply the re- ȱȱ¢ȱȱȱęȱȱȱǰȱȱȱȱ any subsequent amendments that sought to add new RCRA or TSCA counts. Although the Liebharts complied with the ȱȱȱęȱȱȱȱȱȱ 2016, they gave no new notice to the EPA before ęȱ ȱ leave to amend in February 2018. The district court held that, because the prior notice did not contain any mention of bur- ȱȱȱȱȱ¢ǰȱȱ ȱĜȱȱȱȱ EPA to the particular violation the Liebharts sought to include in the amended complaint. The notice provisions serve two purposes. “First, notice al- lows Government agencies to take responsibility for enforc- ing environmental regulations, thus obviating the need for citizen suits. … Second, notice gives the alleged violator ‘an opportunity to bring itself into complete compliance with the Act[s] and thus likewise render unnecessary a citizen suit.’” Hallstrom v. Tillamook Cty.,493 U.S. 20
, 29 (1989) (quoting ¢ȱ ȱ ęǰȱ ǯȱ ǯȱȱ¢ȱ ǯǰȱ ǯ, 484 Nos. 18-1918 & 18-259823 U.S. 49
, 60 (1987)). The district court’s decision to require no- ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ęȱ ȱ pur- poseǯȱ¢ȱȱȱȱȱĴȱȱȱȱȬ plaint, the EPA had been on notice of alleged PCB contamina- tion at the SPX property for over two years—and it had de- clined to get involved. Moreover, it was unlikely that the de- fendants would resolve the alleged violation to avoid being sued when they were already in the midst of an extended law- ȱ ȱ ȱ ȱ ěǯȱ See AM Int’l,106 F.3d at 1351
(“[T]he delay period is designed to allow a [defendant] a pe- riod in which to clean up its act and avoid litigation. [This de- fendant] was clearly not interested in using the delay period to resolve the dispute without going to court.”); see also Dague,935 F.2d at 1351
(“There is no need to maintain a window of opportunity for the government to take the lead enforcement role … ȱȱ£ǰȱȱȱȱȱĴ¢ȱǰȱȱ already lawfully assumed the lead role in bringing a … claim against the same facility.”) (quoting Dague v. City of Burling- ton,733 F. Supp. 23
, 26 (D. Vt. 1990)). When the original notice is “Ĝ¢ȱęȱȱȱȱȱȱǽȱȱ agency] about what it is doing wrong, so that it will know what corrective actions will avert a lawsuit,” Atl. States Legal Found., Inc. v. Stroh Die Casting Co.,116 F.3d 814
, 819 (7th Cir. 1994), there is no need to require a second round of advance notice for an amended complaint in the same litigation. But an error in the futility analysis alone does not neces- sarily constitute an abuse of discretion on the whole. In addi- tion to futility, the district court cited undue delay and preju- dice in its decision to deny leave to amend. “[D]elay by itself ȱ¢ȱȱĜȱȱȱ¢ȱȱȱȱȱ to amend. Delay must be coupled with some other reason. Typically, that reason … is prejudice to the non-moving 24 Nos. 18-1918 & 18-2598 party.” Dubicz v. Commonwealth Edison Co.,377 F.3d 787
, 793 (7th Cir. 2004). The district court cited the Liebharts’ admis- sion that they learned of the possible burial of contaminated concrete on the SPX property on October 11, 2017 but failed to seek leave to amend their complaint until February 22, 2018. During that more than four-month period, the parties Ĵȱȱȱȱ-motions for summary judg- ment, and by February, trial was only three months away. The ȱȱȱęȱȱȱ¢ǯ In response, the Liebharts contend that there was no un- ȱȱȱȱDZȱ¢ȱȱȱ¢ȱęȱȱ ǰȱęȱ of discovery still remained. We disagree. While the district court’s explanation of prejudice was fairly short, even if the district court had failed ȱȱȱęȬ ing of prejudice altogether, we might still “Ĝȱȱ that ‘the prejudice that would result from such amendment was apparent.’” Park v. City of Chicago,297 F.3d 606
, 613 (7th Cir. 2002) (quoting Feldman v. Am. Mem’l Life Ins. Co.,196 F.3d 783
, 793 (7th Cir. 1999)). In Parkǰȱ ȱ ěȱ ȱ ¡ȱ months to move for leave to amend a complaint after she knew (or should have known) of the additional alleged viola- tion.Id.
Because trial was approaching, we concluded that the district court was well within its discretion to deny leave. Id.; see also Perrian v. O’Grady,958 F.2d 192
, 194–95 (7th Cir. 1992) (“Because substantive amendments shortly before trial serve to defeat the public’s interest in speedy resolution of legal dis- putes, ‘[a] district court judge is entitled, in such circum- ǰȱȱȱȱ ȱȱě’s amendment.’” (quoting Campbell v. Ingersoll Mill. Mach. Co.,893 F.2d 925
, 927 (7th Cir. 1990)) ǻȱȱĴǼ). Nos. 18-1918 & 18-2598 25 On the contrary, in Life Plans, we found no undue delay ȱȱěȱ¢ȱȱȱȱȱȱȱ ten days after learning of the factual basis for its new count during discovery. 800 F.3d at 358. The Liebharts delayed more than four months in the same circumstances. Although dis- covery was ongoing at the time of the Liebharts’ motion, the parties had already briefed their dispositive motions, and the district court was preparing its summary-judgment order that would ultimately dispose of the case. We therefore cannot say that denial of leave for undue delay and prejudice was an abuse of the district court’s discretion. Of course, the district court may permit an amendment on remand if the interests of justice so require. III. CONCLUSION Although the district court properly exercised its discre- tion on the various evidentiary and procedural issues the ěȱȱaised, its analysis on the merits was narrower than the statutes demand. It may reach the same conclusions on reconsideration, but the parties should have another op- portunity to litigate whether a substantial and imminent en- dangerment to health exists in this case under the standards we have outlined. We therefore VACATE the order of the dis- trict court and REMAND for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. 3 3 The Liebharts also challenge the taxation of costs against them by the clerk of the district court. Because we vacate the district court’s judgment, we assume that the imposition of costs is automatically vacated and so do not reach that issue. The clerk of the district court is free to reassess costs on remand as the case proceeds.
Meghrig v. KFC Western, Inc. , 116 S. Ct. 1251 ( 1996 )
Dague v. City of Burlington , 733 F. Supp. 23 ( 1990 )
Daubert v. Merrell Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. , 113 S. Ct. 2786 ( 1993 )
united-states-v-charles-price-individually-and-dba-prices-trucking , 688 F.2d 204 ( 1982 )
Sharon Campbell v. Ingersoll Milling MacHine Company, an ... , 893 F.2d 925 ( 1990 )
Donna Feldman v. American Memorial Life Insurance Company, ... , 196 F.3d 783 ( 1999 )
dennis-j-dubicz-robert-b-magolan-and-william-marsh-v-commonwealth , 377 F.3d 787 ( 2004 )
edward-w-gjersten-v-the-board-of-election-commissioners-for-the-city-of , 791 F.2d 472 ( 1986 )
Herman Perrian v. James E. O'grady, Sheriff of Cook County , 958 F.2d 192 ( 1992 )
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Cox v. City of Dallas , 256 F.3d 281 ( 2001 )
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Price v. United States Navy , 818 F. Supp. 1323 ( 1992 )
Quebell P. Parker v. Scrap Metal Processors , 386 F.3d 993 ( 2004 )
Yu Jung Park v. City of Chicago , 297 F.3d 606 ( 2002 )
Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. Grant , 505 F.3d 1013 ( 2007 )
Foster v. United States , 922 F. Supp. 642 ( 1996 )
interfaith-community-organization-lawrence-baker-martha-webb-herring , 399 F.3d 248 ( 2005 )
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Kartman v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance , 634 F.3d 883 ( 2011 )