After a two week trial, a jury dismissed in 75 minutes the negligence claims of about 60 residents and business owners. The group had sued BFI for $25 million in personal injury and property damage claims, and the Caroline County Board of Supervisors for about $2.7 million claiming that the landfill odors had diminished their property values. The trial judge, retired Virginia Supreme Court Justice Charles S. Russell, who had been specially appointed by the state Supreme Court to hear the case, had previously dismissed trespass, breach of warranty and punitive damages claims that had been asserted against BFI.
In 1995, BFI began providing the county-owned landfill a soil mixture containing gypsum drywall and other construction debris which the County used as a daily cover at the landfill. The material had been approved by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality for a demonstration period as alternate daily cover, to be used in lieu of dirt to cover garbage disposed of at the landfill. The plaintiffs had claimed that BFI should have known that the gypsum in the soil material would create bad odors when it interacted with other materials in the landfill.
According to lawyer Miles Dumville of Reed Smith Shaw & McClay LLP, which represented BFI, "The people at Browning-Ferris Inc. abided by the law and sent material that was, in fact, required to be disposed in a state regulated landfill. BFI sent the material only after it received confirmation from the County that state regulators had approved the County's use of the material. BFI did not own, operate or control the landfill or the gaseous substances emanating from the landfill. The material BFI delivered to the landfill was environmentally benign non-hazardous waste authorized by the State of Virginia. We empathize with the residents and business owners, but the fact remains that BFI strictly complied with the law when it delivered the material to the landfill."
Dumville emphasized that the evidence presented by BFI at the trial showed that the usual and customary practice of businesses in the waste disposal industry is to seek the advice of state regulators whenever there is any question regarding appropriate methods for the disposal of a particular waste material. Although the plaintiffs contended in the case that BFI was obligated to conduct independent research before disposing of the soil mixture at the county landfill, Dumville believes that the jury recognized the impracticality of requiring businesses to undertake such research even though their actions had already been approved by the appropriate regulatory agencies.
"If, in order to avoid liability, businesses were required to call trade associations and spend time conducting independent technical research, rather than being able to rely on the expertise of state regulators, the orderly conduct of business would be disrupted and there would be tremendous uncertainty in the business community and among liability insurance companies," stated Dumville. "Who could say how much independent research is sufficient to avoid liability? A ruling in favor of the plaintiffs in this case could have seriously impacted Virginia's ability to attract new business to the state."
Although lawyers for the plaintiffs have stated their intention to appeal the jury's verdict, Dumville and attorneys representing the County stated that they were confident that the conclusion reached by the jury, as confirmed by Justice Russell in denying the plaintiffs' motion to set aside the verdict, would stand.