Judge Orders Hanson North America Pipe and Precast to Trial with the McGilvray Family Trust over Illegal Dumping in Sacramento

(EMAILWIRE.COM, November 09, 2007 ) SACRAMENTO, Calif -- The McGilvray family of Sacramento is embroiled in a lawsuit against their former tenant, Hanson North America Pipe and Precast, for allegedly turning their nine acre property into an illegal waste dump during Hanson's 20-year tenancy. Hanson, America's largest concrete pipe manufacturer and a subsidiary of building products giant Heidelberg Cement AG of Germany, operates a concrete pipe manufacturing facility alongside the McGilvray property next to the Rancho Cordova golf course.According to family spokesman Patrick McGilvray, Hanson leased the property from his grandmother beginning in 1979 to store pipe and equipment. Then, in 1999, before Hanson left the property its representatives assured the family that they would clean up the property and remove all of their materials. When the family tried to develop the property in late 2003, they discovered that just beneath the surface Hanson had buried hundreds of tons of broken cement pipe, rubble, and rebar several feet thick. When settlement discussions broke down with the company in 2005, the family sued.Recently, Hanson tried to get out of the lawsuit before trial, claiming that the family knew of the dumping and sued too late. But Sacramento Superior Court Judge Loren E. McMaster disagreed, pointing out in his October 25, 2007 ruling that even though the family "admit(ed) seeing debris on the property, (that) does not establish (they had) notice that it was buried 3-5 feet down." In papers filed with the court, Hanson admits placing large chunks of concrete rubble, rebar, crushed barrels and various other debris under the ground, claiming the lease allowed them to use their waste products as fill where necessary. According to the family, that lease only allowed the use of such material for fill if Hanson was going to construct a building on the property, which it never did."They turned our property into a disguised dump site before handing us back the keys," said McGilvray. "By their own admission, Hanson buried hundreds of tons of concrete pipe fragments, rebar, and trash on the property and then concealed the dumping by grading over the property with a layer of clean dirt. The lease language they're trying to hang their hat on never contemplated that," said the family's attorney, David E. Frank of Auburn.Frank went on to state that, "Hanson never obtained any of the waste disposal permits necessary to do the kind of dumping they did here." He also added that test pits dug across the entire site showed that the waste is everywhere, and in some areas as deep as 12 feet below the surface. “Because of the extensive nature of the dumping and the intentional concealment, we are asking that the court award punitive damages against the Company in addition to cleanup costs, lost rents and attorney's fees,” Frank said.McGilvray says that the family has been waiting more than 30 years for development to reach the area and that the time was finally ripe in early 2004. But now development of the property is impossible without spending over $700,000 to excavate and remove the material Hanson buried on it. "Hanson's claims of 'good corporate citizenship' sure seem inconsistent with what they did on our property," said McGilvray.A Video of the property can be seen at : http://www.obsnews.com/hanson.htm.Trial is set to begin March 17, 2008 in Sacramento Superior Court.Hanson North America Pipe and Precast is represented by Michael Vinding of Diepenbrock Harrison in Sacramento.Contact:Patrick McGilvray, J.D.Tel: 888-444-BUYER patrick@thehomebuyingcenter.com

PT King
Patrick McGilvray, J.D.

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