Civil Remedies, Toxic Torts, Residential Real Estate

The Intersection of Subrogation and Environmental Law — The Ninth Circuit’s Tyranny of Logic over Common Sense

by Robert S. Sanoff | Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law on 3/20/2013

In a decision that exalts casuistry over common sense, the Ninth Circuit recently held that an insurer who reimbursed $2.4 million in CERCLA response costs to its policyholder had no subrogation rights against the potentially...more

Limitation Periods for Environmental Cost Recovery Claims in BC Abolished

by Wally Braul, Laura Gill, Michael Theroux | Bennett Jones LLP on 2/7/2013

The government of B.C. recently passed legislation that will eliminate any limitation period previously applicable to actions to recover the costs of environmental remediation under the Environmental Management Act, S.B.C....more

EPA Issues New Superfund Guidance

by Natalie Reed | Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman & Machtinger... on 12/1/2012

Settlement plays a fundamental role in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) Superfund enforcement program. Potentially Responsible Parties (“PRPs”) seeking to resolve their liability through the settlement process...more

CERCLA and Original Sin -- Who Has to Pay For Other People's Contamination

by Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law on 9/28/2012

In an environmental dispute between innocents involving a Church and a downgradient property owner, a federal court recently found the Church, although without original sin, was less innocent and should bear all the costs of...more

Divisional Court Affirms the Decision of the Environmental Review Tribunal in Kawartha Lakes

by Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on 6/8/2012

In its recent decision in The Corporation of the City of Kawartha Lakes v. Director, Ministry of the Environment (Kawartha Lakes) issued on May 28, 2012, the Divisional Court affirmed the reasoning of the Environmental Review...more

RCRA Citizen Suits Are Still Constitutional

by Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law on 3/14/2012

2012 is shaping up to be the Year of the Commerce Clause. Not only is the Commerce Clause at the center of the Supreme Court ‘s impending review of the Affordable Care Act later this spring; it is also at the heart of a...more

Reactions to Lead Paint Ruling Beginning to Surface

by Niles, Barton & Wilmer, LLP on 2/17/2012

In October, the Maryland Court of Appeals issued a very disappointing ruling in the lead paint case of Jackson v. Dackman Co., which nullified a long-standing Maryland statute that granted qualified immunity from lead paint...more

Under CERCLA, "Owner" Means Owner When Cleanup Costs Are Incurred, Not When Reimbursement Is Sought

by Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP on 8/6/2010

On July 22, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act ("CERCLA," commonly referred to as the "Superfund" law), the owner of a contaminated...more

Supreme Court Decision Gives New Hope to Defendants in Superfund Cases

by Foley Hoag LLP on 5/6/2009

Monday’s Supreme Court’s decision in Burlington Northern v. United States will significantly affect the outcome of many pending and future Superfund disputes. The opinion’s two principal holdings narrow the scope and extent...more

New Ninth Circuit Decision Confirms that Parties Who Undertake Soil and Groundwater Cleanups Voluntarily or at the Request of...

by Morrison & Foerster LLP on 5/7/2008

A new decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit holds that parties who undertake environmental investigations and cleanups absent a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or court decree or judgment...more

Environmental Advisory: Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Holds Parent Corporation Not Liable under Massachusetts Superfund Law...

by Mintz Levin - Corporate & Securities on 3/25/2008

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) has held that a parent corporation is not liable under M.G.L. c. 21E, the Massachusetts Superfund law, for the liability of a subsidiary that the parent did not own or control at...more