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DLE ATTORNEYS OBTAIN INJUNCTIVE RELIEF IN ENVIRONMENTAL TRESPASS AND NUISANCE SUIT

In October 2007, DLEC attorneys Jeffrey Schiller, Karen Kavanagh Mack, and Emily Masalski obtained an order granting injunctive relief for its client, the owner of a multi-story office building in the northwest suburbs, against a substantial regional oil company that was in the process of demolishing and rebuilding a gasoline service station at an adjacent property. Initially, DLEC attorneys obtained a temporary restraining order to stop further demolition and/or construction activities after DLEC’s client experienced gasoline odors, as well as potentially explosive conditions, in the building which required the response of the local fire department and state emergency response agencies. After significant investigation and lengthy testimony, the Court concluded that the material contained in the sump which caused the emergency situation was gasoline and that the gasoline came from the former gasoline station. Consistent with DLEC’s request, the Court ordered that the owners of the adjacent property could not construct its gasoline station until the owner had conducted a full investigation into the extent and scope of contamination on the subject property, removed the underground storage tanks potentially associated with the contamination, and remediated any contamination discovered during the course of the investigation to the approval of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the local authorities. The case is now proceeding to trial on damages issues.