Ross County jury awards more than $1.3M in lawsuit

CHILLICOTHE – A jury handed down what some court officials said might be the largest civil case award in Ross County history Thursday, awarding Charles “Joe” and Tammy Immell a little more than $1.3 million in a lawsuit against Petron Inc. that originally also had included State Farm Fire and Casualty.

The lawsuit was filed Sept. 3, 2013, in Ross County Common Pleas Court and decided by a jury in front of visiting Judge Leonard Holzapfel. It stems from the Immells’ claim that Petron had negligently poured about 600 gallons of diesel fuel into the basement of their Seip Road home on Oct. 8, 2012.

The Immells’ attorney, Todd Neuman, said the incident happened after the couple had removed a diesel-powered furnace from the basement of their home along with the accompanying interior tank into which the fuel was pumped by hooking up a hose from the delivery truck to a pipe on the outside of the building.

The couple also used diesel fuel for farm operations on an adjacent property.

“They took out the furnace that used the diesel fuel, and then later on, they ordered diesel fuel for their farm — that’s what the ticket said and that’s what the customer rep said they did — but the driver and his boss misread the ticket and they didn’t follow safety procedures and then just mistakenly dumped into the basement," Neuman said. "Because there was no tank, they just kept shooting this (fuel) into the basement and didn’t realize because they weren’t following their safety procedures that there was a problem until there were 600 gallons in the basement. That was the genesis of the suit.”

According to the complaint, the discharge created a health hazard that has prevented the Immells from living in the home since then. Further, the complaint states the Immells have been forced to live in a metal, non-insulated building designed to store farm equipment ever since the discharge and that their property is a total loss on which the couple will be unable to build another home or farm the affected land.

As a result, the Immells asked for a judgment against Petron for an amount in excess of $25,000 and any punitive damages determined by the court.

The jury agreed with the complaint, with six of eight members signing the verdict form stating that Petron was negligent and all eight members agreeing that the company bore 95 percent of the responsibility for what happened with the other 5 percent of negligence being assigned to the Immels.

Seven of the eight jurors signed the verdict form awarding $1,303,820 to the Immells from Petron Oil, with $703,820 of the amount listed as damages due to economic loss to the couple and the other $600,000 awarded as other damages.

The original lawsuit also had included State Farm, which was insuring the home at the time of the fuel discharge. According to the complaint, the Immels’ insurance had a policy limit of $134,400 and that the reasonable value of the home and lost personal property exceeds the coverage limits. It also stated that the company failed to pay the claims made up to the policy limits and that State Farm canceled the policy without notice in December 2013.

Jeffrey Corcoran, another attorney for the Immells, said the portion of the suit against State Farm was settled when the insurance company paid $183,120, which included $141,120 for real property damage and another $42,000 for additional living expenses. Corcoran said the company is attempting to recover the amount from Petron.

Charles Immell, when reached for comment, directed most questions to Neuman but did say he is happy with the verdict.

“It just means that I get my home back,” he said.

“I’m happy for the Immells,” Neuman said. “They obviously went through a pretty horrific ordeal for almost three years, and they stuck with it, had their day in court, and a jury of their peers obviously saw that they were significantly damaged.”

Messages left for the attorneys of record listed in court documents for Petron and State Farm seeking comment have not been returned.