FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 25, 2009
REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION FROM THE SAN FRANCISCO DAILY JOURNAL
Verdicts & Settlements
By Practice Area
Most Read Articles
RESULT DATE: May 18, 2009
City of Modesto v. The Dow Chemical Company, Goss-Jewett Company of Northern California, PPG
Industries Inc., R.R. Street & Co. Inc. (99643 consolidated with 99345)
Hon. Ernest H. Goldsmith
San Francisco Superior
TORTS
Product Liability
Design Defects
VERDICT: $18,320,000 (reversed, JNOV granted)
ATTORNEYS:
Plaintiff - Duane C. Miller (Miller, Axline & Sawyer, Sacramento).
Defendant - Brian H. Buddell, Ronald Thé (Brydon, Hugo & Parker, San Francisco) for Goss-Jewett Company of
Northern California; Eric Grant (Hicks Thomas, LLP, Sacramento) for R.R. Street & Co. Inc.; John J. Deis, John
B. Thomas (Hicks Thomas, LLP, Houston, Texas) for R.R. Street & Co. Inc.; Lily N. Chinn, Mark A. Turco
(Beveridge & Diamond, PC, Washington, District of Columbia); Gary J. Smith (Beveridge & Diamond, PC, San
Francisco) for PPG Industries Inc.; Gennaro A. Filice, III (Filice, Brown, Eassa & McLeod, LLP, Oakland) for The
Dow Chemical Company; Helen E. Witt (Kirkland & Ellis, LLP, Chicago, Ill.) for The Dow Chemical Company.
TECHNICAL EXPERTS:
Plaintiff - Anthony Brown, engineering, environmental accidents, Westminster; Stephen M. Carlton, engineering,
environmental accidents, Rancho Cordova; Bruce Dale, chemical engineering, dry cleaning machines and
systems, Mason, Mich..
Defendant - Tom Johnson, hydrogeology, Sacramento; Michael Kavanaugh, environmental accidents,
Emeryville; George Linkletter, geochemistry, Irvine; Lee A. Swanger, dry cleaning machines and systems,
Miami, Fla..
FACTS: Defendants Dow Chemical Company and PPG Industries Inc. manufactured a drycleaning solvent called
perchloroethylene (PERC), while defendants Goss-Jewett Company of Northern California and R.R. Street were
distributors of PERC. R.R. Street also manufactured drycleaning process additives and filtration and distillation
equipment. The city of Modesto sued all defendants for products liability, alleging that PERC contaminated well
water, groundwater and soil in Modesto. The well water issue was litigated in a 2006 trial, while the ground
water and soil issues were litigated in a 2008 trial.
PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: The city alleged that PERC contaminated groundwater and soil at easements that
the city held in the vicinity of 31 drycleaning sites, that PERC was designed defectively, and that defendants
failed to warn drycleaners of the risks associated with using PERC.
DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: The defendants denied that PERC suffered from any design defect or that there
was a failure to warn of any alleged defects. While the defendants did not contest the existence of PERC at some
of the sites, they claimed that the city did not incur recoverable tort damages since the city did not own the soil
or groundwater that was allegedly contaminated, and would have to spend no money to remove the PERC. In
addition, defendants claimed that the city's claims related to some sites were barred by the statute of
limitations. Finally, defendants claimed the verdict was offset by settlement credits.
INJURIES: The city claimed that it suffered injuries due to contaminated ground water, soil and well water.
DAMAGES: The plaintiffs sought over $120 million in damages. The court granted directed verdict motions filed
by defendants that reduced the claims submitted to the jury down to $54 million.
JURY TRIAL: Length, five months; Deliberation, 20 days
RESULT: The defendants were granted nonsuits or directed verdicts for all but two drycleaning sites. At the first
site, the jury found Dow Chemical and PPG liable and awarded $18,320,000. Goss-Jewett received a complete
defense verdict, and R.R. Street received a verdict that favored the defense. The jury was hung on the statute
of limitations defense at the first site. At the second site, R.R. Street, the only defendant at issue, received a
complete defense verdict.
Subsequent to the jury verdict, the court granted the defendants' motion for JNOV on the statute of limitations
at the first site, finding the city's claim for $18,320,000 in damages was time-barred.
What's It Worth?
With 24,000 cases in its database, the Daily Journal's Verdicts & Settlements section is the most comprehensive, up-to-date service for information about cases in
California.