Defendants in a case alleging that companies recklessly allowed a salt storage site to contaminate water for the village of Camden, Ohio responded to the complaint in the Southern District of Ohio with answers and a motion to dismiss.
Cargill, Inc. and Central Salt LLC filed a motion to dismiss the complaint on Tuesday claiming that Camden, Ohio failed to “state a claim for which relief can be granted.” The motion says the issue is already being pursued in another case by Preble County, Ohio and additional litigation would expend more resources and could result in conflicting decisions. They further argued the complaint was filed 10 years after the issue arose and that the statute of limitations has passed.
The motion claimed Cargill and Central Salt are not at fault. The companies’ contract with ‘the Good Companies’ who oversaw the storage site included provisions and compliance with rules that, if followed, would have allegedly prevented the pollution.
“The Good Companies allowed salt to spill off the storage pad, dug dry wells to facilitate the seepage of salt-contaminated storm water into the aquifer, and installed a drainage pipe conveying salt-contaminated storm water from the Good Terminal to ‘right on top of Camden’s drinking water supply,’ all of which were done without the required environmental permits,” the motion stated.
Good Rail & Truck Transfer Inc. and R. Good Enterprises, LLC, represented by Cohen Todd Kite & Stanford, filed an answer to the complaint on Wednesday which also alleges that the statute of limitations has passed. They ask for the complaint to be dismissed and a judgment entered on behalf of “the Good Defendants”. R.Good Rentals, represented by Katz, Teller, Brant & Hild, filed a similar response.
The case was removed to the Southern District of Ohio on July 1 by the defendants. Cargill, Inc. is represented by Van Kley & Walker, LLC. Central Salt LLC is represented by Ulmer & Berne, LLP. The Plaintiff, Camden, Ohio, is represented by Frost Brown Todd LLC.
