By Cherrie Anne E. Villahermosa
Variety News Staff

THE Superior Court has denied the Commonwealth Ports Authority’s motion for summary judgment against Mobil Oil Mariana Islands Inc.
Associate Judge Juan T. Lizama, in an order yesterday, said the court finds that there is no language in the lease assessing Mobil with strict liability for the ramp hydrant system.
The matter was last heard on Tuesday. The issue is whether Mobil is liable for CPA’s losses resulting from a jet fuel spill at the Saipan international airport.
Douglas Cushnie appeared for CPA while Richard Johnson represented Mobil.
Lizama said CPA claims that there is no evidence that the agency was at fault in performing its maintenance obligations.
CPA asserts that because Mobil was the sole user of the ramp hydrant system and was responsible for it, the company is subject to strict liability for its dangerous activities.
Lizama said the issue before the court does not concern federal environmental law under which both Mobil and CPA could be held jointly and severally liable for cleanup costs.
Nor is there any issue of negligence since neither party has provided any proof of negligence, he said.
According to the judge, the issue is simply whether losses must be allocated to Mobil on the grounds that the lease makes the company strictly liable for the ramp hydrant system.
The judge said CPA did not present sufficient evidence to show that the parties intended the contract to provide for strict liability in this area.
Lizama said CPA has not shown why only Mobil and not CPA should assume absolute liability for an activity occurring on CPA’s property using equipment that CPA owned and over which CPA appears to have exerted some control.
In Oct. 2002, CPA filed the lawsuit against Mobil for refusing to reimburse the agency for its expenses incurred during the cleanup of a fuel spill at the airport’s ramp hydrant system.
CPA’s predecessor. the Mariana Islands Airport Authority. leased parcels of land at the airport to Mobil for the storage, transport and sale of fuel and lubricants.
In 1990, CPA decided to modify its ramp hydrant system by installing a new fuel hydrant system.
The installation took place between mid-1990 and March 1991, resulting in the construction of a new concrete pit for installation of new fittings, a gate valve next to the existing surge control vault, and the tying of the new fittings into Mobil’s fuel line.
After the construction of the new ramp hydrant system, Mobil cut its pipeline to the old ramp hydrant system and deactivated the original ramp hydrant line.
Mobil used the new ramp hydrant system.
It tested its pipeline and the new ramp hydrant system annually by means of hydrostatic testing.
On Dec. 29, 2000, a gasket failure in the ramp hydrant system caused the release of more than 6,000 gallons of jet fuel into the soil.
The gasket was located in a valve pit constructed by CPA as part of the ramp hydrant system.
None of Mobil’s test had revealed any problem with the gasket that failed or gave any indication that it was about to fail, according to the company.
Mobil said it detected the leak on Dec. 31, 2000 or Jan. 1, 2001 when it noticed a variance of 7,000 gallons of aviation fuel in the fuel pipeline and new ramp hydrant system.
Mobil repaired the leak.
Commonwealth and federal environmental agencies ultimately remediated the effects of the leak at a cost of more than $500,000 to CPA and undetermined costs to Mobil.
Lizama said responsibility for the costs associated with the spill is at issue in this case.