Cornett v. Northrop Grumman Corp.

Cornett v. Northrop Grumman Corp.

Opinion

MEMORANDUM & ORDER

HURLEY, Senior District Judge:

Christopher J. Cornett ("Chris"), Bruce Cornett ("Bruce"), and Cathy Cornett ("Cathy") (collectively, "Plaintiffs" or "Cornetts") brought this action for negligence and strict liability against Northrop Grumman Corporation and Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation (collectively, the "Defendants") for injuries and damages allegedly suffered as a result of the release of hazardous substances from Northrop Grumman's former site of approximately 605 acres in Bethpage, New York. Presently before the Court is Defendants' motion to dismiss the complaint pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). For the reasons set forth below, the motion is denied.

BACKGROUND

The following allegations are taken from the Amended Complaint ("Am. Comp.") and assumed true for purposes [*2]  of this motion, unless otherwise noted.

Parties

Plaintiffs Chris Cornett, Bruce Cornett, and Cathy Cornett are a family from Bethpage, New York. Bruce and Cathy Cornett, husband and wife, have lived in Bethpage since February 10, 1984. (Am. Compl. [ECF No. 7] ¶¶ 6-9.) Chris Cornett, son of Bruce and Cathy Cornett, lived in Bethpage, New York from his birth in 1984 until April 2018. (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 4-5.)

Defendant Northrup Grumman, a successor to Northrop Corporation, and Defendant Northrop Grumman Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Defendant Northrop Grumman, are corporations organized under the laws of the State of Delaware with their principal places of business and headquarters in Virginia. (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 11-13.)

Defendants' Activities in Bethpage

Beginning in the early 1930s and for decades thereafter, Grumman Aerospace Corporation, a predecessor of Defendant Northrop Grumman, operated a facility in Bethpage, New York. (Am. Compl. ¶ 14.) The facility, which encompassed approximately 605 acres ("Grumman site") was owned and operated by Defendants. (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 14-15.) "The operations at the Grumman site comprised the engineering, manufacturing, primary assembly, and research/development [*3]  testing of a variety of military and aerospace crafts." (Am. Compl. ¶ 16.)

Within approximately 108 acres of the Grumman site, the United States Navy established a facility known as the Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant ("NWIRP site") for "design engineering, research prototyping, testing, fabrication and primary and subassembly of various naval aircrafts." (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 17, 19.) The NWIRP site was owned by the Navy but operated by Defendants and their predecessor entities. (Am. Compl. ¶ 18.) Plaintiffs allege upon information and belief that, "since no later than 1947, Defendants were aware or should have been aware that their operations at the Grumman site and the NWIRP site were causing subsurface hazardous waste contamination in Bethpage." (Am. Compl. ¶¶ 20-21).

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