Edward Hines Lumber Co. v. Vulcan Materials Co.

861 F.2d 155 (1988)

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Edward Hines Lumber Co. v. Vulcan Materials Co.

United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
861 F.2d 155 (1988)

RW

Facts

The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted an environmental cleanup of a chemically polluted plant owned by Edward Hines Lumber Company (Hines) (plaintiff). Using its authority under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the EPA made Hines pay for the cleanup. Hines sued Vulcan Materials Company (Vulcan) and Osmose Wood Preserving, Inc. (Osmose) (defendants) to make them share in the cleanup costs. Vulcan was later dropped from the case. Osmose had been in operational control of Hines’s plant through the plant’s design, construction, and employee-training phases. Osmose also supplied Hines’s chemicals and retained a right to inspect Hines’s ongoing plant operations. Hines argued that these factors made Osmose an operator within the meaning of common law. The federal district court entered summary judgment for Osmose. Hines appealed to the Seventh Circuit.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Easterbrook, J.)

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