Opinion ID: 2537041
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: South Central Bell v. Texaco

Text: Defendants argue this case is controlled by South Central Bell v. Texaco, 418 So.2d 531 (La.1982), in which an underground gasoline leak caused severe damage to plaintiff's telephone cables. Plaintiff, SCB, began to notice gasoline in its manholes in 1971, and the nearby Texaco station replaced its leaky tanks. The parties assumed the problem was solved as the remaining gasoline would eventually drain away from the cables and the damage would naturally subside. Id. at 532. However, the gasoline did not disappear, and SCB continued pumping gas out of the manholes on a regular basis. In September 1974, SCB replaced all cable in the area due to the gasoline corrosion. Id. SCB then discovered the gasoline in the manholes actually came from leaking tanks at a nearby Shell station. SCB filed suit in October 1975. Shell's tanks were replaced in December 1975, and the problem subsided thereafter. Id. at 533. The trial court held the existence of the gasoline contaminating the cables was a continuing tort, and prescription began to run in September 1974 when the cables were replaced. The trial court reasoned the extent of SCB's damage was the cost of replacing the cables, and no additional damages were suffered after their replacement. Plaintiff appealed, arguing that prescription did not begin to commence as long as the cause of the damages (i.e., the gasoline) remained underground. The court of appeal affirmed on the grounds that once the old cables were irreparably damaged and had to be replaced, the additional gasoline leakage did not cause any more damage. [5] This Court reversed and held prescription did not begin to run until December 1975, when Shell replaced its leaky tanks and the gasoline drained away. The court reasoned, [w]hen the tortious conduct and resulting damages continue, prescription does not begin until the conduct causing the damage is abated. Id. at 533. Defendants claim South Central Bell establishes a rule that prescription begins to run when a polluter replaces leaky gasoline tanks. However, in South Central Bell it was undisputed that replacing the tanks resolved the issue. The gasoline drained away from the telephone lines shortly thereafter, and no additional remediation was necessary. The successive damages ceased. In the case before us, gasoline remains on the Hoggs' property several years after defendants' leaky tanks were replaced. Indeed, the chemicals may not have even migrated onto plaintiffs' property until some time after the leak was stopped. Moreover, South Central Bell did not argue, as do the Hoggs, that a continuing tort exists until the gasoline is removed, or that the gasoline created a continuing trespass. Those issues were simply not before the court in South Central Bell. Importantly, [j]udicial decisions do not stand as binding `precedent' for points that were not raised, not argued, and hence not analyzed. Legal Services Corp. v. Velazquez, 531 U.S. 533, 557, 121 S.Ct. 1043, 1057, 149 L.Ed.2d 63, 82 (2001)(Scalia, J., dissenting)(collecting cases). It would be improper to extend the holding of South Central Bell to a legal argument that was not made by either party in that case.