D & H Ventures v. Exxon Mobil
Following a series of rulings, the trial court entered judgment in favor of defendant and respondent Exxon Mobil Corporation (Exxon) on the complaint brought by plaintiffs and appellants D&H Ventures, Inc. (D&H) and Fry's Petroleum, Inc. (Fry's) (sometimes collectively appellants). D&H purchased a gasoline service station site from Exxon, and Fry's later purchased the station from D&H. Appellants contended that Exxon breached the sales agreement and acted tortiously in failing to remediate contamination at the site after receiving notice of the problem from governmental authorities 10 years after the original sale. On summary judgment, the trial court ruled that the agreement did not obligate Exxon to remediate the contamination given the undisputed evidence that it satisfied its remediation obligations specified by the agreement. On demurrers, the trial court ruled that neither D&H nor Fry's could bring other claims premised on the failure to remediate.
We affirm. The trial court properly granted summary judgment on D&H's breach of contract claim, as the undisputed evidence showed that Exxon did not breach the agreement by failing to resume remediation activities years after the sale. Moreover, the statute of limitations barred any breach of contract claim premised on Exxon's inadequate remediation at the time of sale. The trial court also properly sustained a series of demurrers on the remaining claims, as a release contained in the agreement barred those claims and a limiting provision in the agreement barred Fry's from bringing a breach of contract claim. Finally, the trial court properly exercised its discretion in denying leave to amend, as the amended claims relied on the same factual basis as those already adjudicated and appellants offered no valid reason for their delay in seeking amendment.
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