Langsam Stevens Silver & Hollaender (“LSSH”) recently completed a complex six-week CERCLA trial before the Honorable Walter H. Rice in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. The case arose from environmental contamination at the South Dayton Dump and Landfill Superfund Site (“Site”), a historic waste disposal facility outside of Dayton, Ohio, where for decades unregulated dumping occurred. LSSH has been involved in this case since 2012 as lead counsel representing Plaintiffs NCR Voyix Corporation, Illinois Tool Works Inc., and ZF Active Safety US Inc. (“Plaintiffs”).
The Plaintiffs signed two LSSH-negotiated EPA administrative settlement and orders on consent (“ASAOCs”) which mandated vapor intrusion mitigation and investigation of contamination at the Site. These ASAOCs led to the incurrence of environmental response costs at issue in the litigation and gave rise to the litigated CERCLA contribution claims. Plaintiffs brought claims against 27 other viable potentially responsible parties at the Site, most of which were settled during the course of litigation and one of which admitted liability at the start of trial.
The litigation required reconstruction of the operational history of landfill across multiple decades, including a thorough analysis of the defendants’ historical industrial/commercial operations and constituent components of the associated waste streams. LSSH attorneys collaborated with a wide range of experts across various disciplines, including urban history, geology, geochemistry, chemistry, hydrology, and even neurology, after several defendants engaged an expert in the science of memory. The case also required extensive time and work with former Site employees and fact witnesses who were involved in historic Site operations. Through historical records, testimony, and scientific analysis, the trial team compiled evidence concerning the origin, transportation, migration, and environmental impact of hazardous substances disposed of at the Site.
The case was tried to Judge Walter H. Rice between April 13 and March 21, 2026. Twenty-seven witnesses testified either live or by deposition. Some of the witnesses had either died or were no longer able to testify about events that happened in the 1950s through 1970s. The three defendants that remained trial at all argued that they are not responsible for the contamination at the Site, either because they did not contribute to the contamination at the Site or because they are otherwise not responsible under the applicable law, according to their arguments.
After the trial, the Court ordered significant expedited trial briefing. LSSH attorneys completed over 170 pages of briefing in a mere two and a half weeks after trial and an additional 70 pages of responsive briefing during the following two-week period.
The LSSH trial team included attorneys Larry Silver, David Romine, Wade Stephens, and Louis “Luke” Dodge as well as paralegals Casey Buffaloe, Sasha Burton, and Ian Johnston. Local counsel for the Plaintiffs was Sebaly Shillito & Dyer, led by James Dyer, who provided significant contributions to the trial and the team.
Following more than a decade of litigation, extensive discovery, and a six-week bench trial involving complex historical and scientific evidence, the parties are now waiting for the Court’s liability determination before moving to the allocation phase of the case. A decision is expected later in 2026.
The case is entitled Hobart Corporation et al. v. The Dayton Power and Light Company et al., No. 3:13-cv-00115.