LAJIM, LLC v. General Electric Co.

Dist. Ct. did not err in granting plaintiffs-landowners’ motion for summary judgment in action under Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, where record showed that defendant had generated hazardous waste/contamination that presented imminent and substantial danger to health or environment, that arose out of defendant’s discharge of toxic chemicals that seeped into groundwater near plaintiffs’ property. However, plaintiffs were not entitled to any injunctive relief with respect to ordering defendant to conduct additional investigation into scope of contamination and ordering defendant to remove said contamination, where: (1) defendant was already subject to Consent Order in prior state-court action that required defendant to investigate nature and extent of contamination and then perform remediation; (2) Illinois EPA had approved defendant’s Remedial Action Plan in March of 2018; and (3) plaintiffs failed to provide evidence that Consent Order in prior state court action was ineffective, or that plaintiffs were experiencing harm that was not already being addressed sufficiently in prior state court action.