The Blackstone Headwaters Coalition, Inc. v. Gallo Builders, Inc., RH Gallo Builders, Inc., Arboretum Village, LLC, Steven A. Gallo, and Robert H. Gallo

Summary

The court holds that it, rather than the jury, must decide whether a state agency diligently prosecuted a comparable Clean Water Act action. The issue concerns the availability of civil penalties and was reserved for a bench trial after the defendants moved to bifurcate relief issues from the jury trial on the merits, without opposition from the plaintiff.

Holdings

1. The court, not the jury, must determine whether a state agency diligently pursued a comparable action under the Clean Water Act because the issue concerns relief, was reserved for a bench trial, and was excluded from jury consideration through the parties' bifurcation arrangement.
2. Defendants waived consideration of the diligent-prosecution issue by unopposedly moving to bifurcate relief from the jury trial and expressly requesting that relief and penalties be determined exclusively by the trial judge.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Clean Water Act diligent-prosecution bar is an issue for the jury or the court.
2. Whether defendants waived jury consideration of the diligent-prosecution issue by moving to bifurcate relief and requesting that relief and penalties be determined exclusively by the trial judge.

Disposition

other