In Re: Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether ("MTBE") Products Liability Litigation
Filing
3691
DECLARATION of Jeremiah J. Anderson in Support re: (3636 in 1:00-cv-01898-SAS-DCF) MOTION for Partial Summary Judgment on Plaintiff's Nuisance Claims.. Document filed by Chevron USA Inc., Union Oil Company of California. (Attachments: #1 Exhibit 14, #2 Exhibit 15)Filed In Associated Cases: 1:00-cv-01898-SAS-DCF, 1:04-cv-04973-SAS(Anderson, Jeremiah)
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EXHIBIT 14
M & S Texaco (2619 S. East Avenue)
Deposition of Jatinder Paul Dhillon, pgs. 27-36, 55-57, 148 (August 11, 2011)
Shell Defendants’ Objections and Responses to Plaintiff City of Fresno’s First Set of
Interrogatories to Defendants, dated November 10, 2008, pages 1 and 28.
Deposition of Jatinder Paul Dhillon / August 11, 2011
Page 1
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NEW YORK
-oOo________________________________
In re: Methyl Tertiary Butyl
Ether ("MTBE") Products
Liability Litigation
________________________________
Master File No.
1:00-1898
This Document Relates To:
Case No.
City of Fresno
MDL 1358(SAS)
v. Chevron U.S.A. Inc., et al.,
Case No. 04 Civ. 4973
________________________________
DEPOSITION OF JATINDER PAUL DHILLON
August 11, 2011 at 9:00 (9:05) a.m.
Before: ERIC L. JOHNSON
RPR, CSR #9771
Taken at:
Fresno, California
DEPOBOOK REPORTING SERVICES, LLC (800) 830-8885
Deposition of Jatinder Paul Dhillon
/
August 11, 2011
Page 10
MR. DICHELLO:
1
2
Rome representing Lyondell Chemical Company.
MS. OSEROFF:
3
4
This is John DiChello from Blank
Tatiana Oseroff on behalf of Kern
Oil.
5
MS. LUGO:
6
behalf of Nella Oil Company.
THE VIDEOGRAPHER:
7
8
Freeda Lugo with LeClair Ryan on
Will the court reporter
please swear in the witness.
JATINDER PAUL DHILLON,
9
10
the Witness herein, having been duly and regularly sworn
11
by the Certified Shorthand Reporter, deposed and
12
testified as follows:
EXAMINATION BY MR. EICKMEYER
13
MR. EICKMEYER:
14
Q.
Good morning, Mr. Dhillon.
15
My name is Evan Eickmeyer, as I introduced myself,
16
representing the City of Fresno.
17
the questioning today, and I will have most of the
18
questions, probably, and documents to ask you to look
19
at.
20
on the phone will have the chance to ask you questions
21
as well.
I will start out doing
And then the other attorneys here in the room and
Have you ever had your deposition taken before?
22
23
A.
Yes.
24
Q.
Was it in regard to a gas station?
25
A.
No.
DEPOBOOK REPORTING SERVICES, LLC (800) 830-8885
Deposition of Jatinder Paul Dhillon
/
August 11, 2011
Page 27
1
Q.
I'm sorry.
Is that yes?
2
A.
Yes.
3
Q.
Just to get an answer out loud.
Thank you.
Do you recall what instructions you were given
4
5
by the area rep about how to respond to a gas leak or
6
spill at the station?
7
other words?
8
A.
9
What did they tell you to do, in
They -- they told us if spill happen what we
are supposed to do, how to clean up, and if it was more
10
than that we are to call the fire department, or
11
whatever.
12
Q.
Details and everything was in that book.
When you say how to clean up, do you remember
13
anything more specifically about how you were told to
14
clean up?
15
A.
Small spill or large spill?
16
Q.
Start with a small spill.
17
A.
Okay.
We put like a cat litter and we have a
18
drum there which is picked up by a -- some company who
19
used to take care of those -- what you call -- we
20
dispose them through one company.
21
Q.
When you say it was a cat litter, we have heard
22
some people talk about a product that was like kitty
23
litter.
24
A.
Like kitty litter, yes.
25
Q.
Do you remember the name of the product that
DEPOBOOK REPORTING SERVICES, LLC (800) 830-8885
Deposition of Jatinder Paul Dhillon
/
August 11, 2011
Page 28
1
you were using?
2
A.
No.
3
Q.
Were you the one responsible for buying that
4
No.
cat litter-type product?
5
A.
We buy those, yes.
6
Q.
Do you recall if you were using that cat
7
litter-type product at 2619 South East Avenue?
8
A.
Yes.
9
Q.
Do you recall how large of a bag or container
10
11
12
13
14
that cat litter product came in?
A.
I think they come in 25 pounds, something like
that.
Q.
Do you recall how often that would need to be
replaced that you would have to buy some more product?
15
A.
When we finish it.
16
Q.
Do you recall how often that was on average?
17
A.
I have no answer for that.
18
Q.
I mean, did it happen every so many months or
19
20
years, or do you have -A.
All depends upon the spill.
Sometimes it's a
21
spill we use it; sometimes months we don't have any
22
spill and we don't use it.
23
Q.
So you mentioned that after it was used you
24
said it was put in a drum that was picked up by a
25
company?
DEPOBOOK REPORTING SERVICES, LLC (800) 830-8885
Deposition of Jatinder Paul Dhillon
/
August 11, 2011
Page 29
1
A.
Right.
2
Q.
So was that a container that was used just for
3
the purpose of that cat litter product?
4
A.
Yes.
5
Q.
Do you have a recollection as to what company
6
Yes.
was used to pick that up at --
7
A.
I don't --
8
Q.
-- 26 -- one second here.
9
A.
Sorry.
10
Q.
-- at 2619 South East Avenue?
11
A.
No.
12
Q.
Okay.
13
I am going to try to just make sure we
are clear what station we are talking about --
14
A.
Right.
15
Q.
-- since I think you have had five.
If you are
16
ever not clear, please let me know.
I mean, we are --
17
we are mostly going to be talking about the East Avenue
18
station, but if you are ever not clear, please indicate.
19
A.
Yes.
20
Q.
In fact, why don't we -- why don't I just
21
say if we refer to the station, we are referring to
22
2619 South East Avenue.
23
A.
That's fair.
24
Q.
All right.
Is that fair?
25
Now, you mentioned a moment ago, I
think you asked about a small spill versus a large
DEPOBOOK REPORTING SERVICES, LLC (800) 830-8885
Deposition of Jatinder Paul Dhillon
/
August 11, 2011
Page 30
1
spill.
Were you given instructions on what to do for a
2
large spill?
3
A.
The large spill, we have to call the fire
4
department and we also, they called some company who
5
cleaned those kind of mess.
6
Q.
Did they explain to you in your training where
7
was the difference between a small spill and a large
8
spill?
9
A.
Yes.
10
Q.
And what was that difference?
11
A.
I don't remember.
12
Q.
Do you recall if it was a spill of a certain
13
14
15
16
Tells you in the training package, yes.
number of gallons or how that was decided?
A.
Yeah, the gallons, more than a gallon, that's a
big spill.
Q.
So if it was a large spill, you indicated you
17
were to call the fire department and then some other
18
service?
19
A.
Some other service to clean it, yes.
20
Q.
At the -- again, the station at 2619 South East
21
Avenue, do you recall whose responsibility it would have
22
been to use the cat litter-type product if there was a
23
small spill?
24
25
MR. YBARRA:
Objection; calls for a legal
conclusion.
DEPOBOOK REPORTING SERVICES, LLC (800) 830-8885
Deposition of Jatinder Paul Dhillon
/
August 11, 2011
Page 31
THE WITNESS:
1
2
whoever is working there.
MR. EICKMEYER:
3
4
The manager or -- or cashier,
Q.
At the 2619 South East
Avenue station, were you considered the manager there?
5
A.
Yes.
6
Q.
Did you have any other people over the years
7
8
9
10
11
you operated that who were your managers?
A.
We have lot of help, like cashiers and one
assistant manager, yes.
Q.
Do you recall the names of any of the managers
at that station?
12
A.
I don't remember.
13
Q.
There may be some names we have seen on
14
documents if it helps refresh your recollection.
At the 2619 South East Avenue station, do you
15
16
recall if there would be occasions where a customer had
17
the nozzle in their car and overfilled their car so that
18
any gas spilled or leaked on the ground?
19
A.
That's the only way it spills there, yeah.
20
Q.
About how often would that happen at 2619 South
21
East Avenue?
22
A.
Very hard to answer.
Sometime maybe that
23
happen for six months, one time it happen every day, two
24
days in a row, so --
25
Q.
When that type of overfill would happen, do you
DEPOBOOK REPORTING SERVICES, LLC (800) 830-8885
Deposition of Jatinder Paul Dhillon
/
August 11, 2011
Page 32
1
recall what the approximate size of the discoloration on
2
the ground was?
3
A.
The gas mostly evaporates, we put the litter
4
there and we sweep it up.
5
in the color, no.
6
7
Q.
And there's not much change
Do you recall seeing any discoloration on the
ground when an overfill would occur?
8
A.
Not really.
No.
9
Q.
Do you recall if there were times when a
10
customer would take the nozzle out of their car and
11
there would be any drips of gasoline from the nozzle to
12
the ground?
13
A.
It happened sometimes.
14
Q.
Do you recall how often on average that would
15
occur?
16
A.
I can't answer that.
17
Q.
Do you recall when that occurred how large any
18
19
discoloration on the ground was?
A.
Because most of it is concrete.
And there's no
20
decoloration, just the spot.
21
there, then you clean it and after time we always wash
22
the islands, and it dissipates.
23
Q.
You can see the spot
Do you recall how large the spots were that
24
would be on the ground?
Can you tell me in inches or
25
what size it would have been?
DEPOBOOK REPORTING SERVICES, LLC (800) 830-8885
Deposition of Jatinder Paul Dhillon
/
August 11, 2011
Page 33
A.
1
2
You can
see like that.
Q.
3
4
Maybe six, seven-inch round circle.
Now, you mentioned washing the area down.
Was
that hosed down, or how would that occur?
A.
5
We -- we don't wash them particular like that
6
way because we use cat litter to clean it.
7
like once a week or something like that in the nighttime
8
to clean all the island, parking lot and everything.
Q.
9
And we do
So in the schedule you mentioned on once a
10
week, where would the water go that was used to clean
11
off the concrete?
12
street, or where would that water go?
A.
15
Water goes in the -- in the gutter that time,
Q.
13
14
Was that running to a drain or the
Now, do you recall if there were ever any
yes.
16
occasions where someone left the nozzle in their car and
17
started to drive away?
18
A.
It happens.
19
Q.
On average, how often would that happen at
20
Yes.
2619 South East Avenue?
21
A.
Three, four time a year.
22
Q.
On those occasions where you had -- was that
23
sometimes called a drive off?
24
A.
Drive off we call them.
Yes.
25
Q.
When there was a drive off, were there times
DEPOBOOK REPORTING SERVICES, LLC (800) 830-8885
Deposition of Jatinder Paul Dhillon
/
August 11, 2011
Page 34
1
when any gasoline would come out of the rubber hose
2
onto the ground?
3
A.
No, not really, no.
4
Q.
When you say "not really, do you remember, was
5
there --
6
A.
No.
7
Q.
-- a small amount or --
8
A.
Maybe one drop or something like that.
9
10
11
maybe.
Drop
Half-inch drop.
Q.
Would there be any gas in the hose that would
come out to the ground if they were driving off?
12
A.
I think so, yes.
13
Q.
Do you recall any occasions where anyone, car
14
or vehicle, ran into one of the gas pumps or gas
15
dispensers?
16
A.
It happened one time, yes.
17
Q.
At the East Avenue station?
18
A.
That's what we are talking about, that same
19
station, yes.
20
Q.
21
address.
Yeah, yeah, right, unless we say another
Yes.
22
A.
Yes.
23
Q.
Can you tell us what happened in that incident?
24
A.
I think somebody backed up into the dispenser.
25
Q.
Do you recall -- sorry.
Were you done?
DEPOBOOK REPORTING SERVICES, LLC (800) 830-8885
Deposition of Jatinder Paul Dhillon
/
August 11, 2011
Page 35
1
A.
And damaged the pump, yes.
2
Q.
Do you recall if there was any release of
3
gasoline during that incident?
4
A.
None.
5
Q.
Do you recall approximately what year that
6
7
8
9
10
occurred where someone backed into a dispenser?
A.
I am not sure, but approximately 2001, or
something like that.
Q.
When someone backed into the dispenser, was the
fire department called at that time?
11
A.
No.
12
Q.
Now, you mentioned you had instructions, I
13
think what you described as a large spill, you would
14
call the fire department and another cleanup service.
15
Were there any times that you had to call the fire
16
department to respond to the East Avenue station?
17
A.
Yes.
18
Q.
When did that occur, if you recall
19
approximately the date?
20
A.
One time.
21
Q.
Do you recall if that was in the '90s or 2000s?
22
A.
2000s.
23
Q.
Can you describe for us what happened in that
24
25
No, I don't remember the date.
occasion?
A.
What exactly do you mean about that?
DEPOBOOK REPORTING SERVICES, LLC (800) 830-8885
No.
Deposition of Jatinder Paul Dhillon
/
August 11, 2011
Page 36
1
2
3
Q.
Well, what happened that caused you to have to
call the fire department?
A.
I think some -- some truck was filling a gas
4
and he spill it.
5
call them.
6
7
8
9
10
11
Q.
And the puddle was big so we have to
When you say it was big, do you recall how many
feet or -A.
Half a gallon -- maximum is not even a gallon.
Less than a gallon.
Q.
Was that the Fresno Fire Department that
responded?
12
A.
Yes.
13
Q.
I am not sure if I asked you this, but I think
14
you indicated, is it correct you are not still currently
15
operating the station at East Avenue?
16
17
18
19
A.
I am not right now.
I am not operating that
one, no.
Q.
What year did you stop operating the East
Avenue station?
20
A.
January 2009.
21
Q.
So the incident involving the fire department,
22
would you say that was in the earlier or the mid or the
23
later 2000s?
24
A.
25
I don't remember in particular.
I don't
remember.
DEPOBOOK REPORTING SERVICES, LLC (800) 830-8885
Deposition of Jatinder Paul Dhillon
/
August 11, 2011
Page 55
1
Q.
What did you do?
2
A.
We submitted it.
3
Q.
No. 4 says, "Annual tightness tests have not
4
been performed on pressurized product lines," end quote.
5
Do you recall if you took any response to that?
6
A.
Yes.
7
Q.
What was that?
8
A.
If I remember right, this was delayed because
9
we were in process to -- landlord was in process to
10
change the new tanks and the new pipes and everything.
11
That's the reason they are in the permit -- time of
12
getting permits and everything.
13
done timely after that because we were putting in new
14
tanks and new pipes, and all kind of this.
15
Q.
That's why it was not
Do you recall if anyone from the county ever
16
indicated that Kerry Oil, the previous owners, had not
17
been submitting the information requested here?
18
A.
No.
19
Q.
Let me ask you, on the very back page of the
20
packet, there's a couple of checked lines.
And I think
21
there's one that wasn't mentioned in the cover letter.
22
It is the third X down, about the middle of the page.
23
Says starting with "inventory."
You see that line?
24
A.
Mm-hmm.
25
Q.
I will read that into the record.
It says,
DEPOBOOK REPORTING SERVICES, LLC (800) 830-8885
Deposition of Jatinder Paul Dhillon
/
August 11, 2011
Page 56
1
"Inventory reconciliation or tank gauging annual summary
2
reports are not being submitted.
3
must be submitted to this office," end quote.
Do you recall if you took any response to that
4
5
6
Annual summary reports
item?
A.
We gave them the copies.
We never knew that we
7
were supposed to, but at that time the law changed, we
8
give them all the copies, yes.
9
Q.
Now, when it mentions inventory reconciliation
10
or tank gauging, was there something being done at this
11
time frame, 1995, to check the amount of gas in the
12
underground storage tanks?
13
A.
Yes.
14
Q.
We have heard from other witnesses about taking
15
a stick measurement.
16
Were you doing that kind of
process?
17
A.
That time it was stick, yes.
18
Q.
Did that later change from stick measurement to
19
something else?
20
A.
Something else, yes.
21
Q.
Do you recall, did that change when the tanks
22
were replaced or when did that change?
23
A.
When the tanks were replaced.
24
Q.
What kind of system was used after the tanks
25
were replaced?
I am just asking generally, was it an
DEPOBOOK REPORTING SERVICES, LLC (800) 830-8885
Deposition of Jatinder Paul Dhillon
/
August 11, 2011
Page 57
1
electronic system?
2
A.
Electronic system.
3
Q.
During the time the stick measurements were
4
being taken, how often were those taken?
5
A.
Every morning.
6
Q.
Who is responsible for the stick measurements?
7
A.
The employee who opens the store.
8
Q.
Was there some kind of reconciliation done to
9
10
try and determine if what was measured with the stick
matched what was expected to be in the tank?
11
A.
Yes.
12
Q.
Can you describe that process?
13
A.
Our bookkeeping system was like that to --
14
because they know how much gas we sold and how much gas
15
we missing from the tank, should match.
16
Q.
Was there a particular amount of gallons of
17
discrepancy that would cause reason for investigation if
18
what was measured in the tank didn't match what you
19
expected to be there?
20
21
22
A.
If it is difference between more than 20, 30
gallons, we do check it around there.
Q.
Do you recall how many times there was a
23
difference of more than 20 or 30 gallons found at the
24
station?
25
A.
Never.
I don't remember that happening.
DEPOBOOK REPORTING SERVICES, LLC (800) 830-8885
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/
August 11, 2011
Page 148
1
before they used to use it in gasoline.
MR. YBARRA:
2
Q.
But would gas -- in your mind,
3
was gasoline dangerous if it reached the environment
4
whether or not it contained MTBE?
5
A.
Yes.
6
Q.
Okay.
7
And you understood that it was important
to prevent leaks of gasoline into the environment --
8
A.
Yes --
9
Q.
-- regardless -- excuse me.
10
finish.
Just let me
And you understood it was important to prevent
11
12
leaks of gasoline into the environment regardless of
13
whether or not the gasoline contained MTBE, right?
14
A.
Yes.
15
MR. EICKMEYER:
16
MR. YBARRA:
17
Thank you, sir.
THE WITNESS:
19
MR. EICKMEYER:
20
MS. LUGO:
22
23
24
25
I have no further
questions.
18
21
Vague and ambiguous.
Company.
Thank you.
On the phone?
This is Freeda Lugo, Nella Oil
I don't have any questions.
MS. OSEROFF:
Thank you.
...from Kern Oil, and we have no
questions.
MR. DICHELLO:
This is John DiChello.
No
questions.
DEPOBOOK REPORTING SERVICES, LLC (800) 830-8885
22414092
Nov 10 2008
8:19PM
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