On Wednesday, Revere Docks, LLC, Erickson’s Inc. and Newcorp, Inc. filed a complaint against Detroit Bulk Storage, Inc. to recover damages and response costs to repair a collapsed bank of the Detroit River.
According to the complaint, Revere Docks is a Michigan limited liability company and the owner of a property and dock on the Detroit River, located on West Jefferson Avenue in the city of Detroit, Michigan. Further, the complaint states that in June 2019, Revere began leasing the property to Detroit Bulk Storage, Inc., a Michigan limited liability company.
The complaint purports that as part of its business, Detroit Bulk Storage improperly loaded and stored thousands of tons of materials such as sand, gravel and crushed stone, referred to as the Aggregate.
The complaint states that on November 26, 2019, approximately 200 feet of shoreline along the property collapsed into the Detroit River because Detroit Bulk Storage overloaded areas of the property with Aggregate. The complaint further alleges that sampling performed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and a private environmental agency found that the collapse caused hazardous substances to be released into the Detroit River. Additionally, the complaint states that Detroit Bulk Storage had prior knowledge of the risks of overloading areas of the Property with Aggregate and knew of the presence of hazardous substances at the Property because of a prior environmental assessment and of the historical use of the Property.
Revere states that as a result of the collapse, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy issued a Violation Notice on December 11, 2019, to Revere as owner of the Property and Detroit Bulk Storage as operator of the Property. The Violation Notice states that Revere and Detroit Bulk Storage violated several provisions of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act. Revere states that after the Violation Notice, it incurred significant costs due to response activities required under the Notice including, construction of a new sea wall and debris removal. The complaint also states that Revere settled a lawsuit with the city of Detroit over the collapse on May 7, 2020.
Revere alleges that it has incurred significant harm and costs due to Detroit Bulk Storage’s improper use of the facility and is bringing the present lawsuit to recover its cost in response activities and the damage caused by Detroit Bulk Storage. The complaint alleges 10 causes of action including breach of lease, nuisance, negligence, statutory and common law waste, cost recovery and contribution. The plaintiffs are represented by Butzel Long P.C.
