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The Indiana Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Cave Quarries Inc. v. Warex LLC Thursday morning, a case involving the 2021 blasting procedure that damaged an asphalt plant in Paoli.
Prior to the incident, Cave Quarries hired Warex to perform blasts on its property, near Cave Quarries’ asphalt plant, for limestone extraction. The companies had worked together before, and Cave Quarries had been prepping the site of the blast with smaller blasts starting in 2018.
According to the Indiana Court of Appeals, Cave Quarries knew the plant was within the designated “radius of risk” of the explosion and continued with it anyway. The company erected steel plates around the bottom of the plant to protect gas lines. A mud seam, however, caused the blast to slip and go wrong, damaging the plant.
The Indiana Supreme Court granted Cave Quarries’ petition to transfer and now has jurisdiction over the case.
During oral arguments, representatives from both Cave Quarries and Warex argued over the application of strict liability in the case, debating whether Cave Quarries could be considered an innocent bystander or if they knew what they were getting themselves into when blasting near the asphalt plant. While the company prepared for the blast by placing steel plates to protect gas lines, it’s unknown if Cave Quarries knew of the mud seam risk.
Cave Quarries claimed the company had no control over the blast, only who they chose to perform the blasting, while Warex argued Cave Quarries is a sophisticated company that knows how blasting works and further benefits from the blast.
Chief Justice Rush questioned if negligence is the best application for the conflict, in place of strict liability.
The Supreme Court is preparing an opinion.
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