Local Dry Cleaner’s Lawsuit Alleges Marathon and Tesoro's Failure to Clean Up Contamination is Stalling Progress and Putting Walnut Creek Residents at Risk

The former local business owner of Dutch Girl Cleaners for twenty-two years is suing petroleum giants Marathon Oil and Tesoro Co. for failing to clean up a toxic plume from a “Speedway Express” gas station in downtown Walnut Creek.

Marathon is a $16 billion-dollar oil and gas company. Its neighbor in Walnut Creek, Dutch Girl Cleaners, is an eco-friendly dry-cleaning facility. The complaint alleges that contamination has migrated from Marathon’s site onto the Dutch Girl Cleaners’ property and poses public safety risks to the broader Walnut Creek community. According to the complaint, underground pollutants threaten to contaminate drinking water aquifers in the area.

As alleged, contamination at the Marathon gas station prevents future development of the Dutch Girl property. Dutch Girl owner, Steven Depper, has gained approvals to transform his property into a mixed-use residential and commercial development, Dutch Girl Plaza. Dutch Girl’s redevelopment plan creates seventy-five residential units, including low-income housing, daycare, retail, and underground parking to meet downtown Walnut Creek’s growing needs.

The complaint alleges those plans, as well as the entire redevelopment of the Walnut Creek downtown corridor, are threatened by migration of pollutants from Marathon’s property. More importantly, the health of customers, employees, and people working or living nearby is threatened by ongoing carcinogenic release, the result of a botched remediation attempt.

Inevitably, toxic chemicals will be exposed during construction, the complaint alleges, creating a toxic hazard for workers and residents. Marathon’s failure to appropriately remediate this contamination holds back progress for the entire West Downtown Walnut Creek corridor and will delay—if not entirely prevent—active re-development projects while harming the community with exposure to toxic chemicals.

This case vindicates a local small business owner’s right to take on big oil companies that fail to clean up their mess, the result of placing profit over public safety.

Steven Depper, former owner of Dutch Girl Cleaners and current owner of Dutch Girl Plaza, LLC, said:

“This complaint isn't about me or one person--it's about doing the right thing for the community. All I want is for Marathon and its subsidiaries to be held accountable, and do what is required under the law, which is to fully remediate and clean up the contamination they released into the community.

“After 40 years working and being a member of the community, raising our kids here, and building our business, my dream was to give back to Walnut Creek by using my property to provide needed housing and childcare. I've spent my own career ensuring my business was the first green dry cleaner in the Bay Area, and I’ve worked tirelessly to prioritize health and safety by using green technology.

“Unfortunately, Marathon’s continued failure to stop the toxic migration of chemicals from their property onto mine means we cannot move forward with those plans. I hope that they do what's right—and what's right for our community.”

Brian Danitz, partner at Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP said:

“The time has come for Marathon Oil and Tesoro to clean up their mess. This contamination has gone on long enough, and it is now stopping Walnut Creek from moving forward. Walnut Creek's redevelopment dreams have been derailed by Big Oil's mess.”

Julie Fieber, partner at Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP said:

“This is a case about multi-billion-dollar oil companies ignoring their basic responsibilities to the community. Failure to clean up this mess is a direct result of these companies’ decision to place profit over safety.”

Pierce Stanley, associate attorney at Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP said:

“Today’s lawsuit is a chance to call out corporate greed in its ugliest form. Marathon and Tesoro know exactly what they’re doing. They’re willing to stall community growth, because cleaning up their mess is not convenient for their bottom-line.”

See the complaint for details here: https://www.cpmlegal.com/media/news/15201_2025-02-10%20Dutch%20Girl%20Complaint.pdf

About Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP

Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy engages exclusively in litigation and trials and has earned a national reputation for its dedication to prosecuting or defending socially just actions. To learn more about the firm, visit www.cpmlegal.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250306674100/en/