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Civil Procedure Keyed to Field
Tull v. United States
Citation:
481 U.S. 412, 107 S. Ct. 1831, 95 L. Ed. 2d 365 (1987)Facts
Edward Tull, a real estate developer, placed fill material on wetlands located on the island of Chincoteague, Virginia, at multiple sites including Ocean Breeze Mobile Homes Sites, Mire Pond Properties, Eel Creek, and a manmade waterway called Fowling Gut Extended. The United States government sued Tull under the Clean Water Act for discharging fill material into navigable waters without obtaining the required permit. At the time the complaint was filed, Tull had already sold most of the properties to third parties, making injunctive relief largely impractical. The government sought the maximum civil penalty of $22,890,000 under the statute. Tull timely demanded a jury trial, but the District Court denied this request and conducted a bench trial. During the trial, Tull did not dispute placing the fill or failing to obtain permits, but contested whether the properties constituted wetlands. The District Court found liability and imposed $325,000 in civil penalties plus injunctive relief.
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