Ervin v. Iowa District Court

495 N.W.2d 742 (1993)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

P founded Midwest Research and Recycling, Inc. for the purpose of developing and operating a tire reclamation plant in Webster County. He sought to develop a process to decompose tires. The attorney general brought this suit against P, seeking civil penalties and injunctive relief. Fire lanes were demanded as a part of the relief sought. Due to P's vast accumulation of tires, the attorney general later filed an application for temporary injunction, requesting that P be prohibited from accumulating any more tires at the dump and be required to install fire lanes in accordance with the terms of his solid waste disposal permit issued by the department of natural resources. It was estimated there were more than 800,000 tires at the site--twenty times the 40,000 authorized by P's permit. Other estimates place the number of tires at or near 2,000,000. The district court, Judge Ronald H. Schechtman issued an order enjoining P from accumulating any more tires and ordering the installation of fire lanes at the site within ten days. There is no contention of further accumulation; the dispute became centered upon the requirement to install fire lanes by removing or relocating tires. P failed to install any fire lanes. On the basis of this failure, the State filed a contempt application. P's sole defense for noncompliance was claimed 'technical and financial' impossibility. P and his witnesses testified concerning P's and Midwest's financial condition. Evidence was also offered concerning P's physical condition. It was said that P's back problems prevented him from moving any tires himself. Judge Mark S. Cady found P in contempt. P was sentenced to six months in jail, with the provision that he be released after twenty days and given an opportunity to purge himself of the contempt. Failure to begin construction of the fire lanes within two days following release would result in incarceration for the remainder of the six-month term. This appeal resulted.