Opinion ID: 3006720
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Separation of Powers and Due Process

Text: Exxon argues that the State’s suit should have been dismissed on the grounds of separation of powers and due process. Exxon asserts that based upon the State’s decision to participate in the RFG Program beginning in 1991, and the legislature’s failure to ban MTBE before 2007, “[t]he retroactive noMTBE duty” imposed upon it “conflicts with bedrock principles of the separation of powers” and “due process.” Exxon also argues that the suit conflicts with the Oil Discharge and Disposal Cleanup Fund (ODD Fund), RSA ch. 146-D (Supp. 2014); see Laws 2014, 177:1 (repealing RSA chapter 146-D, eff. July 1 2025), and the Gasoline Remediation and Elimination of Ethers Fund (GREE Fund), RSA ch. 146-G (Supp. 2014); see Laws 2014, 177:3, I (repealing RSA chapter 146-G, excluding RSA 146-G:9, eff. July 1, 2025), Laws 2014, 177:3, II (repealing RSA 146-G:9, eff. October 1, 2025). The State asserts that Exxon failed to preserve its separation of powers argument because the arguments it raises on appeal were not made to the trial court, and that Exxon fails to identify where it preserved its due process argument. The appealing party bears the burden of demonstrating that it “specifically raised the arguments articulated in [its appellate] brief before the trial court.” Dukette v. Brazas, 166 N.H. 252, 255 (2014). Generally, the failure to do so bars a party from raising such claims on appeal. N. Country Envtl. Servs. v. Town of Bethlehem, 150 N.H. 606, 619 (2004). But see Sup. Ct. R. 16-A (plain error rule). We have reviewed the record and agree with the 4 State that Exxon failed to preserve its separation of powers argument concerning the State’s purported public policy decisions, as well as its due process argument. However, we address, as properly preserved, Exxon’s separation of powers argument based upon the ODD and GREE Funds. Before trial, Exxon moved for summary judgment on separation of powers grounds, arguing that the State’s suit threatened to usurp the legislature’s appropriations power because the ODD and GREE Funds “embody the legislative choice regarding how testing and remediation should be funded” and “this suit would allow the Attorney General to fund remediation in a very different way and create an appropriation outside of the General Court’s purview.” Exxon asserted that, because “there is no existing statutory mechanism through which any damages awarded to the State in this litigation could be specifically appropriated to the investigation, testing, and remediation the State requests,” it would violate separation of powers for the court or the attorney general “to order such an appropriation.” Thus, Exxon argued, “[i]n light of the existing funds and their structure, this suit implicates appropriations-related separation of powers problems.” The trial court denied the motion, concluding that Exxon had failed to establish that the legislature intended the ODD or GREE Funds to be the State’s exclusive remedy. As to the ODD Fund, the court found that pursuant to the plain language of RSA 146-D:6, I, and I-a, the Fund “is only authorized to disburse funds to owners of underground storage facilities, bulk storage facilities, or the land on which such facilities are stored” and, thus, the statute did not demonstrate legislative intent “to provide a remedy for the damages sought by the State in this litigation.” As to the GREE Fund, although noting that it does not contain an explicit limitation upon who may seek payment, because the potential damages at issue in this suit far exceed the $2,500,000 capped balance of the fund, the trial court stated that [i]t is reasonable to infer, then, that in creating the GREE Fund the legislature did not intend it to serve as the sole source of cleanup funds for any and all contamination event[s]. Its relatively small size indicates that it was intended to address a small number of isolated incidents at any given time, not a statewide contamination of the type alleged here by the State. Finally, the Court notes that neither fund claims to be an exclusive remedy. Accordingly, the court found that “the existence of these funds does not evince the intent of the legislature to preclude suits such as this one” and that “the State’s suit does not threaten to usurp the legislature’s appropriations power.” On appeal, Exxon argues that the legislature “created two detailed statutory schemes—the ODD Fund and the GREE Fund—to enable direct spillers to pay the often substantial costs of remediation,” and that “[i]t is 5 precisely when the legislature has established a tailored regulatory framework to address a particular problem that this Court has declined to make judicial ‘improvements’ to the democratically-enacted scheme.” The State argues that its suit “is consistent with the ODD and GREE funds” in that the “caps on those funds, their purposes, and their structures confirm that neither was intended to replace recovery actions for tortious activity against manufacturers of dangerous products or to free manufacturers that withhold knowledge of a dangerous condition from liability.” Whether the State’s lawsuit violates the Separation of Powers Clause of the State Constitution, N.H. CONST. pt. I, art. 37, because it conflicts with the ODD and GREE Funds, is a question of law, which we review de novo. See Cloutier v. State, 163 N.H. 445, 451 (2012). “The separation of powers among the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government is an important part of its constitutional fabric.” Duquette v. Warden, N.H. State Prison, 154 N.H. 737, 746 (2007). “Separation of the three co-equal branches of government is essential to protect against a seizure of control by one branch that would threaten the ability of our citizens to remain a free and sovereign people.” Id. Thus, under the Separation of Powers Clause, “each branch is prohibited . . . from encroaching upon the powers and functions of another branch.” Id. at 746-47. Nevertheless, Part I, Article 37 does “not provide for impenetrable barriers between the branches . . . and the doctrine is violated only when one branch usurps an essential power of another.” Id. at 747 (citation omitted). Statutory interpretation is a question of law, which we review de novo. Appeal of Local Gov’t Ctr., 165 N.H. 790, 804 (2014). In matters of statutory interpretation, we are the final arbiter of the intent of the legislature, as expressed in the words of the statute considered as a whole. Id. We first look to the language of the statute itself, and, if possible, construe that language according to its plain and ordinary meaning. Id. We interpret legislative intent from the statute as written and will not consider what the legislature might have said or add language that the legislature did not see fit to include. Id. Statutory “provisions barring [a] common law right to recover are to be strictly construed.” Estate of Gordon-Couture v. Brown, 152 N.H. 265, 267 (2005). “If such a right is to be taken away, it must be expressed clearly by the legislature.” Id. at 266. The purpose of the ODD Fund is “to establish financial responsibility for the cleanup of oil discharge and disposal, and to establish a fund to be used in addressing the costs incurred by the owners of underground storage facilities and bulk storage facilities for the cleanup of oil discharge and disposal.” RSA 146-D:1 (emphasis added). The ODD Fund allows owners of eligible facilities to apply for reimbursement of court-ordered damages to third parties for injury or property damage and costs of cleanup of oil discharges up to $1,500,000. RSA 146-D:6, III. The ODD Fund is financed by a fee on imported oil that is paid on 6 a per gallon basis by distributors who import oil into New Hampshire. RSA 146-D:2-:3. As the trial court found, “the end goal of the ODD Fund is not to offset tort liability for Defendants but rather to provide an excess insurance mechanism for [underground storage tank] owners who are otherwise in compliance with all relevant laws and rules.” The purpose of the GREE Fund, a fund in addition to both the Oil Pollution Control Fund established pursuant to RSA 146-A:11-a (Supp. 2014) and the ODD Fund, “is to provide procedures that will expedite the cleanup of gasoline ether spillage, mitigate the adverse [e]ffects of gasoline ether discharges, encourage preventive measures, impose a fee upon importers of neat gasoline ethers into the state and establish a fund for the remediation of groundwater and surface water contaminated by gasoline ethers.” RSA 146- G:1, II. “Th[e GREE] nonlapsing, revolving fund shall be used . . . . to mitigate the adverse [e]ffects of gasoline ether discharges including, but not limited to, provision of emergency water supplies to persons affected by such pollution, and . . . the establishment of an acceptable source of potable water to injured parties.” RSA 146-G:4, I. “Not more than $150,000 shall be allocated annually for research programs dedicated to the development and improvement of preventive and cleanup measures concerning such gasoline ether discharges.” Id. The fund’s balance is capped at $2,500,000. RSA 146-G:4, II. The fund is financed in part by the ODD Fund. RSA 146-D:3, VI(b); RSA 146-G:1. We agree with the trial court that there is no language in either of the statutory provisions establishing the ODD and GREE Funds indicating a legislative intent to preclude the damages sought by the State in this case. See also State v. Hess Corp., 161 N.H. 426, 431 (2011) (MTBE defendants conceded that the State may recover damages to test and treat statutorily defined public water systems). Accordingly, we reject Exxon’s separation of powers argument based upon the ODD and GREE Funds.