Dry cleaners may be small businesses but they have a disproportionate impact on the environment. Studies suggest that at least 75% of the dry cleaners in operation prior to 2000 have probably had releases of PCE which means lots of strip malls and shopping centers may have been contaminated by PCE. Not surprisingly, dry cleaner […]
Dry Cleaner Equipment Financer Settles CERCLA Claim Read More »
The second our series of recent cases involving the due care element of the CERCLA third party defense is State of New York v Adamowicz, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 102988 (E.D.N.Y. 9/13/11) where a property owner was unable to establish that it exercised due care despite spending over $1MM addressing environmental concerns at its site.
Owner Incurs $1MM On Cleanup But Ct Says No “Due Care”-Owner Waited Too Long to Act Read More »
In Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. United States, 129 S.Ct. 1870 (2009), the United States Supreme Court held that to establish that a defendant is a CERCLA “arranger” or generator under § 9607(a)(3), a plaintiff must establish that the defendant intended to dispose hazardous substance. The court said that while an entity’s knowledge that a product
Reports of the Demise of CERCLA “Arranger” Liability Proving to Be Premature Read More »
An Illinois appeals court ruled that an insurer had a duty to defend a successor of an insured where the insured made an assignment of benefits pursuant to a asset sales agreement. The assignment of benefits had been made without consent of the insured and the insurance policy had contained an anti-assignment clause.. In Illinois
Assignment of Benefits Does Not Violate Anti-Assignment Clause Read More »
In Queens W. Dev. Corp. v. Honeywell Int’l, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 91795 (D.N.J. 2011), the plaintiff developers commenced remedial activities at two parcels that were accepted into the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) and Voluntary Cleanup Program (VCP). Plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against the defendants as successors
CERCLA Contribution Action Not Available for BCP/VCP Cleanup Read More »
Groundwater at many commercial properties in Long island and suburban areas of New York has been contaminated from discharges to dry wells, leaching pools and septic systems. In the 1980s, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) frequently used consent orders issued pursuant to Title 17 of the Environmental Conservation Law which prohibits
The Third Party defense (42 U.S.C. 9607(b)(3) is probably the most important CERCLA defense. To assert the defense, a defendant must satisfy the following four elements or prongs: The release was solely caused by a third party; The defendant had no direct or indirect “contractual relationship” with the third party (“contractual relationship” prong); The defendant
Review of Recent CERCLA Third Party Defense “Due Care” Caselaw-Part 1 Read More »
One of the underpinnings of corporate law is that a purchaser of assets is not normally liable for the liabilities of the predecessor while a stock purchaser will take on the pre-existing liabilities. Courts have fashioned four exceptions to the no liability for asset purchaser rule. The exceptions are: express or implied assumption of liability
Ct Rules Existence of Seller Not Relevant For Successor Liability Read More »
A federal district court ruled that a Maryland county government was liable to a developer for damages resulting from the migration of landfill gas from a closed landfill to a planned development community. The court held that developer was entitled to recover response costs under CERCLA and that the subsurface migration of methane gas and VOCs
County Liable to Developer for Migration of Landfill Gas Read More »