A federal court found there were triable issues if a purchaser qualified as a bona fide prospective purchaser (BFPP) because of alleged flaws in a phase 1 environmental site assessment. In Stratus Redtail Ranch LLC v. IBM, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8723 (D. Col. 1/18/22), the plaintiff had acquired a 290-acre parcel of agricultural land […]
Some of the more interesting CERCLA cases involve lawsuits between current and former property owners. Usually, the current owner assumes it qualifies as bona fide prospective purchaser (BFPP) or for the Innocent Landowner (ILO) Defense and sues the defendant/former owner for cost recovery. The defendant/former owner invariably files counterclaims alleging the current owner/plaintiff is not
Much of the focus of the 2021 revisions to ASTM Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment Standard E-1527 was to clarify the custom and practice for performing historical investigations-particularly for adjoining properties. Unfortunately, for an architectural firm that dabbled in the phase 1 marketplace these clarifications came too late. In Hathaway Homes, Phase II Limited Partnership
Christmas arrived early for two environmental consulting firms when a federal district court ruled in Bank United, N.A. v. Merritt Environmental Consulting Corp, 2018 U.S. Dist. Lexis 214448 (S.D.N.Y. 12/20/2018) that a lender had waited too long to file a complaint against the consultants for failing to identify radioactive contamination in a phase 1 environmental
Consultants in Bank Lawsuit Saved by the (Statute of Limitations) Bell Read More »
Pete Seeger’s popular song from the 1960s “Where have all the Flowers Gone?” has the haunting recurring lyrics “When will they ever learn”. This song came to mind when we came across another case of a bank taking title to contaminated property without doing any environmental due diligence. In this case, Suburban Bank and Trust
After a little more than six months after ASTM issued its new E1527-13 Phase 1 standard practice, problems are emerging over the new definition Controlled Recognized Environmental Condition (CREC) definition. The difficulties are related to the definition itself and differences among state environmental programs. Before discussing the CREC problems, a little background might be helpful
Problems Emerge with New CREC Definition Read More »
On December 30th, the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final rule in the Federal Register (78 FR 79319) recognizing the new ASTM E1527-13 phase 1 standard practice as an approved method for complying with the All Appropriate Inquires (AAI) rule. As explained below, while the preamble to the final rule is an improvement to
We have previously discussed Ridge Seneca Plaza, LLC v. BP Prods. North America, No. 6:06-cv-06333 (W.D.N.Y. 3/28/11) where the federal district case from the western district of New York ruled that a purchaser could not bring a malpractice claim against a consultant who had been retained by a bank. . We picked this case because it
2nd Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Negligence Claim Agst Consultant Read More »
Some time ago, we discussed the $14MM lawsuit filed by Lowe’s Home Centers against a consultant. Lowe’s alleged that the consultant failed to identify all areas that had been contaminated with PCBs and the store opening was delayed because of complications associated with the previously unknown PCB-contaminated soil was improperly disposed. The matter eventually settled Another
Ct Allows Claim Agst Consultant For Missing Contamination at Lowe’s Site To Proceed Read More »
Southern Wine & Spirits of New York vs. Impact Environmental Consultants, 2013 N.Y. App. Div. LEXIS 2081(App. Div.-1st Dept 3/28/13) involves a common source of contamination in Long Island and other suburban areas of New York City-dry wells and septic systems. The parties have yet to begin discovery but based on the motion papers filed