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INTERNAL PROTOTYPE — NOT LEGAL ADVICE — DO NOT SEND

Boccanfuso v. Daghoghi, 337 Conn. 228 (2020)

Citation
Boccanfuso v. Daghoghi, 337 Conn. 228 (2020)
Parent Document
Boccanfuso v. Daghoghi, 337 Conn. 228 (2020)
Jurisdiction
Connecticut (state)
Effective Date
2020-09-30

Other Sections in This Document (50)

Full Text

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not been addressed. The inspector had a conversation
          with Dominick, during which Dominick stated that he
          would hire a contractor to test the tank and piping for
          corrosion protection. The inspector informed Dominick
          that the tank was in ‘‘temporary closure status’’ until
          it was either brought into compliance or permanently
          removed. (Internal quotation marks omitted.) The
          inspector cited six ‘‘potential violations’’ on the basis
          of his findings.
             On April 27, 2011, the plaintiffs hired Absolute Tank
          Testing, Inc. (Absolute Tank), to conduct a cathodic
          protection test of the 2000 gallon tank. Absolute Tank
          subsequently sent a letter to Dominick on May 1, 2011,
          advising him that the tank had ‘‘passed’’ the test but
          that the lines connected to the tank had ‘‘fail[ed]’’ the
          test. Absolute Tank recommended that the plaintiffs
          retain a cathodic protection engineer to confirm the
          readings and make recommendations accordingly. On
          October 31, 2011, Dominick received a second letter
          from Absolute Tank advising him that soil samples
          taken from the area surrounding the 2000 gallon tank
          contained ‘‘detectable concentrations of [Extractable
          Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons at] 540 parts per mil-
          lion’’ and that DEEP had been notified.3
            In March, 2013, Giuseppe Boccanfuso (Giuseppe),
          Dominick’s nephew, removed the 2000 gallon tank.
          Afterward, Connecticut Tank Removal, Inc. (Connecti-
          cut Tank), conducted soil sampling of the area where
             3
               Despite these letters and the earlier DEEP inspections of the tank, Domi-
          nick testified that he was not aware of any environmental contamination
          on the premises at the time the parties signed the lease in November, 2013.
          Dominick explained that, after he received the test results from Absolute
          Tank, he spoke to an official at DEEP who informed him that the results
          were not significant and ‘‘[didn’t] mean a thing in contamination.’’ Dominick
          testified that he became aware of the contamination only after DEEP issued
          an order to the plaintiffs in July, 2014, to remediate the contamination. The
          trial court found that neither the plaintiffs nor the defendants were aware
          that the premises contained contaminants ‘‘above action levels’’ prior to a
          subsequent order issued by DEEP in July, 2014.
Page 6                          CONNECTICUT LAW JOURNAL                                 July 20, 2021