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Tippett v. Padre Refining Co.11/15/2000
BROWN, J., dissents with reasons.
Plaintiffs, alleging personal injury and property damage as the result of an oil spill by an oil refinery operated by Padre Refining Company, appeal the grant of summary judgment to Padre's insurer on the basis of a "pollution exclusion" to its general liability policy. Finding the exclusion valid, we affirm.
Factual Background
On January 10, 1997 approximately 3,000 barrels of crude oil were accidently released into the environment surrounding an oil refinery located in Claiborne Parish. At the time of the spill, the refinery was being operated by Padre Refining Company pursuant to an operating agreement with the owner. The refinery had only been in operation for a day after being out of service for approximately one year due to the owner's bankruptcy . A subsequent investigation revealed that one of Padre's employees had misaligned a set of valves between two of the refinery's storage tanks; as a result, some of the oil went into the wrong tank, causing it to overflow into a nearby firewall. Because another valve was left open in the firewall, the oil eventually passed out of the facility and into a nearby creek. The oil contained hexene, benzene, and other carcinogens; certain nearby residents inhaled these pollutants and suffered nausea and severe headaches.
Shortly before the spill, on December 10, 1996, Lexington Insurance Company, through its local agent, issued a Commercial General Liability Policy to an entity known as "Padre Trading Company." After the spill, a claim was made under the policy, but was denied on the basis of the policy's "absolute" pollution exclusion. In response, Padre Refining brought a declaratory action against Lexington, seeking a judicial determination on the issue of coverage. Robert Tippet and Luegene Corbin, local residents who suffered property damage and/or personal injury , as well as the fear of contracting cancer as a result of the spill intervened seeking damages; they also joined Padre's request for a declaratory judgment on the coverage issue. After the trial court sustained Padre's exception of no cause of action with respect to damages, Tippet and Corbin filed a separate suit (34,140) against Padre and its insurer, Lexington. This suit was eventually consolidated with another suit (34,141) brought against Padre and Lexington by a third group of 62 plaintiffs who also claimed property and personal damages.
In the consolidated plaintiffs' suit and also in the declaratory action, Lexington filed a Motion for Summary Judgment based on its policy exclusion. Relying on the then-recent case of Ducote v. Koch Pipeline Co., L.P., 98-0942 (La.1/20/99), 730 So.2d 432, the trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Lexington. The plaintiffs brought the instant appeal; neither Padre Trading nor Padre Refining has appealed.
Applicable Law
A motion for summary judgment shall be granted if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to material fact and that the mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. La.C.C.P. art. 966. A fact is material if its existence or nonexistence may be essential to the plaintiff's cause of action under the applicable theory of recovery. Hardy v. Bowie, 98-2821 (La. 9/8/99), 744 So.2d 606; Barnett v. Staats, 25,357 (La.App.2d Cir.1/19/94), 631 So.2d 84. Summary judgment procedure is favored to secure the just, speedy, and inexpensive determinations of all except certain disallowed actions. La. C.C.P. art. 966 A(2). Appellate review of summary judgments is de novo, utilizing the same criteria that guide the trial co
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