Opinion ID: 738219
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Consideration of the In re Fernald

Text: Settlement 28 The district court found that Nieman had not alleged a continuing violation because all damages both past and future could have been estimated in one action. Dist.Ct.Op. at 4. However, the district court made this determination based on the settlement in In re Fernald, No. C-1-85-149, 1989 WL 267039 (S.D.Ohio September 29, 1989). Generally, when a party moves to dismiss an action under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), the court may only consider the pleadings: 29 If, on a motion asserting the defense numbered (6) ... matters outside the pleading are presented to and not excluded by the court, the motion shall be treated as one for summary judgment and disposed of as provided in Rule 56, and all parties shall be given reasonable opportunity to present all material made pertinent to such a motion by Rule 56. 30 Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b); see Song v. City of Elyria, 985 F.2d 840, 842 (6th Cir.1993); 5A CHARLES A. WRIGHT & ARTHUR R. MILLER, FEDERAL PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE § 1357 (2d ed. 1990) (In determining whether to grant a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, the court primarily considers the allegations in the complaint, although matters of public record, orders, items appearing in the record of the case, and exhibits attached to the complaint, also may be taken into account.). Nonetheless, it is not necessary for this court to determine whether the district court erred by considering the settlement as a matter outside the pleadings in granting the defendants' motion to dismiss, because the fact that the defendants reached a settlement with different plaintiffs in the class action case does not conclusively establish that all damages past and future could be estimated in one action. 31 In fact, a settlement generally does not establish anything except that the parties decided they would prefer avoiding further litigation. In the class action context, a settlement must be approved by the court pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(e) before the case may be dismissed. In re Fernald, 1989 WL 267039,  3 (S.D.Ohio September 29, 1989). As part of the approval process, the district court must determine whether the proposed settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate. Id. In the instant case, the district court approved the settlement based on numerous factors, including the plaintiffs' needs for immediate medical monitoring and epidemiological studies, which the court found might be frustrated by lengthy appeals even if plaintiffs prevailed at trial. Id. at  4-5. The district court's order approving the settlement does not indicate that plaintiffs attempted to argue a continuing trespass theory, which is not surprising since the class action litigation was filed in 1985, or within approximately one year of the uranium leak at the Fernald plant. See Compl. p 10. 10 In addition, the fact that other members of Nieman's family were members of the class is irrelevant. See Dist.Ct.Op. at 1 & n. 1. 32 Accordingly, we reject the district court's conclusion that Nieman failed to state a claim for continuing trespass based on its finding that the In re Fernald settlement established that any trespass was a permanent one. Therefore, we must consider whether Nieman's allegations are sufficient to state a timely claim under the Price-Anderson Act for continuing trespass. As stated earlier, to the extent it is not inconsistent with federal law, Ohio law provides the framework for this federal claim.