Cook v. Desoto Fuels, Inc.

169 S.W.3d 94 (2005)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D owned and operated an Amoco gas station that at some point, a leak developed in at least one of the three underground storage tanks resulting in the contamination of the P's property. P's' tenants noticed a strong odor of gasoline and a rainbow sheen in the water from a well and reported this to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources in 1993. The Department issued a report in 1994 that the water from both of the P's wells was contaminated with constituents of gasoline. It identified four nearby gas station sites as possible sources of the pollution. Additional work was needed to determine which of those four sites was the source of the contamination. The Department installed two groundwater monitoring wells in an effort to identify the cause and source of the contamination. In September of 1997, it identified D's former Amoco station as the sole source of the contamination. In August of 2000, P entered into a contract to sell their property, and the prospective buyer's investigation revealed an unacceptable level of contamination. P sued D on March 30, 2001, claiming negligence, trespass, and private nuisance. P claimed that Ds' conduct resulted in the continuing entry, trespass, or intrusion onto their property. D eventually moved for summary judgment based on the statute of limitations. The court granted summary judgment in favor of D based on the five-year statute of limitations. This appeal resulted.