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Joseph Adinolfe, et al.v.United Technologies Corporation

CourtUnited States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Docket No.12-16396
DecidedOctober 6, 2014
Reporter742 F.3d 243 (11th Cir. 2014)
JudgesCircuit Judges William Pryor and Jordan, and District Judge Paul Friedman sitting by designation; Circuit Judge Jordan authored the opinion
Tags
CivilTort LawEnvironmental LawCivil ProcedureMotion to DismissStandingReversalRemand
Case Summary

These consolidated appeals arose from dismissal of second amended complaints in the Adinolfe and Pinares toxic-tort cases, in which Palm Beach County property owners alleged that Pratt & Whitney contaminated groundwater near their homes. The district court had issued Lone Pine orders requiring individualized testing, expert, and causation submissions before dismissing the complaints with prejudice. The Eleventh Circuit held that such orders could not function as premature summary-judgment proceedings before the complaints were tested under Rule 12(b)(6) and the parties had reciprocal discovery. It held that the complaints plausibly alleged contamination and causation when read as a whole, permitted alternative causal theories, and did not require plaintiffs to allege contamination above regulatory drinking-water levels. The court concluded that the Adinolfe plaintiffs alleging actual contamination had standing and plausibly alleged injury; the separate proximity and anticipated-contamination plaintiffs could not be dismissed solely because their own parcels were not yet contaminated, where they alleged economic loss and nuisance-related harm. The court left other elements and ultimate proof for later proceedings and emphasized that it addressed only the grounds the defendant had raised and the district court had relied on. It reversed the judgments dismissing the complaints and remanded; Pratt & Whitney remained free to seek judgment on the pleadings or summary judgment after the cases were at issue and discovery was complete.

Opinion

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