Sultan Corporation v. Department of Environmental Protection

Summary

The Maine Supreme Judicial Court vacated in part a decision affirming a Department of Environmental Protection cleanup order against Sultan Corporation. The court held that the Board of Environmental Protection had to first determine whether the third-party defense under 38 M.R.S. § 1367(3) is available in proceedings challenging a cleanup order issued under 38 M.R.S. § 1365. The matter was remanded for further proceedings limited to that threshold issue.

Holdings

1. The Board must first determine whether the third-party defense afforded by 38 M.R.S. § 1367(3) is legally available in proceedings challenging a Commissioner's order issued under 38 M.R.S. § 1365.
2. The court may not affirm the administrative action by substituting a more adequate or proper basis for the grounds invoked by the agency; because the Board failed to determine the availability of the defense, the court was powerless to affirm the administrative action on that issue.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Board was required to determine, as a threshold legal matter, whether the third-party defense under 38 M.R.S. § 1367(3) is available to a party challenging a Commissioner's cleanup order issued under 38 M.R.S. § 1365.
2. Whether the court could affirm the Board's decision on the ground that Sultan failed to prove the elements of the defense when the Board had declined to decide whether the defense was legally available.

Disposition

vacated