Halloran Sage represented a wholesale distributor of bulk home heating oil in a $600,000+ claim for oil spill remediation damages to a heating oil distribution facility. The plaintiff facility had a tank with a broken gauge which caused them to order a delivery of 10,000 gallons of oil to a tank that could hold only 3000 gallons. The oil deliveryman, our client, was doing paperwork in the cab of the truck and did not see thousands of gallons spilling out of the tank until it was too late. The spill is captured on video. The cleanup of the facility has cost approximately $350,000 to date and is expected to exceed $600,000 when completed.

In a case argued in the District Court of Connecticut before Judge Nagala, Halloran Sage Partner Paul Meade argued that the delivery was governed by the Federal Hazardous Materials Transportation Act which has a very broad pre-emption provision, and unlike other similar federal regulating schemes such as that governing railroad transportation, does not contain any express provision for civil actions for damages, nor does it include any “savings clause” authorizing actions for damages under state law. Despite expressing strong misgivings about leaving persons damaged by such spills without any remedy, Judge Nagala agreed with us that the existing Second Circuit precedent supported preemption of any claim by the plaintiffs.

Read more