Estuary Owners Ass'n v. Shell Oil Co.

*901 In three cases consolidated in the trial court, the Estuary Owners Association (EOA) and individual owners of condominiums built on *902 the site of a former bulk fuel distribution terminal sued successive owners and developers of the property, as well as contractors involved in constructing the condominiums, over alleged contamination of the soil and groundwater at the site and improper construction of the condominiums. After appellants settled with various of the developers and other defendants, the trial court granted motions for summary adjudication and summary judgment in favor of Shell Oil Company (Shell), the original owner of the property, on the grounds that appellants' causes of action against it for negligence and nuisance were barred by a 10-year statute of repose, and the negligence claims also were barred by a three-year statute of limitations and failed because Shell did not owe a duty of care to appellants. Appellants argue the trial court misinterpreted their complaints *192 and misapplied the law on each of these issues. We agree that the trial court erred in finding the statute of repose applicable but find no error with respect to the statute of…