Thomas Sand Co. v. Colonial Pipeline Co.

STILWELL, Judge:

Thomas Sand sued Colonial for damages, alleging a spill from its pipeline rupture contaminated a sand deposit Thomas Sand had leased on the Reedy River. The trial court held the failure to exhaust administrative avenues to obtain a permit was the proximate cause of its inability to mine the sand and granted Colonial summary judgment. We reverse.

FACTS

Colonial owns and operates a 36 inch pipeline extending from Houston to New York which transports petroleum products. In late June 1996, Colonial’s pipeline ruptured at its junction with the Reedy River in Greenville County,…