Contaminated Properties

Appeal Court Confirms That Innocent Party Must Clean Up Pollution

by Jack Coop, Jennifer Fairfax, Daniel Kirby, Paul Morassutti, Lindsay Rauccio, Patrick Welsh | Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on 5/13/2013

In a decision in Kawartha Lakes (City) v. Ontario (Environment), on May 10, 2013, the Ontario Court of Appeal unanimously dismissed the appeal of the City of Kawartha Lakes (the City), which sought to overturn a decision of...more

Missouri To Pilot Reforms To Corrective Action Clean-Up Program

by Adam Troutwine | Polsinelli on 4/29/2013

Businesses involved in clean-up of environmentally contaminated sites often face a time-consuming and expensive process. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources and the Environmental Protection Agency will pilot reforms...more

Texas Court Allows Defamation Claim Against Landowner to Proceed

by Cassie J. Dallas | BakerHostetler on 4/26/2013

On Monday, Texas’s Second District Court of Appeals partially affirmed a District Court order allowing Range Resources Corporation’s (“Range”) defamation and business disparagement claims against a landowner to...more

Earth Matters - April 2013: Recent Decision Highlights Distinction Between Compliance With Multiple Environmental Programs

by Kimberly Barnashuk, Adam Walters | Phillips Lytle LLP on 4/26/2013

A recent New York Court of Appeals decision, Bronx Committee for Toxic Free Schools v. New York City School Construction Authority, 20 N.Y.3d 148 (2012), highlighted the interplay between the compliance process for the State...more

Abolishment of Limitation Periods for Contaminated Sites in BC Put on Hold

by Wally Braul, Laura Gill, Michael Theroux | Bennett Jones LLP on 4/23/2013

In 2012, the government of B.C. passed legislation that would eliminate any limitation period previously applicable to actions to recover the costs of environmental remediation under the Environmental Management Act, S.B.C....more

Dodging Deal Killers -- Anticipating and Solving Problems Related to Properties Being Sold or Purchased

by Walter McMonies, John Pinkstaff | Lane Powell PC - Real Estate Law on 4/5/2013

In This Presentation: Contamination; Environmental Issues; Defective or Incomplete Land Use Approval; “As Is,” “Your Problem Not Mine” Seller; Encroachment; URM or Otherwise Seismically Challenged Property; Use,...more

Words Matter — Settlement Agreements Should be Enforced As Written

by Robert S. Sanoff | Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law on 4/2/2013

Sometimes you read a decision and it’s hard to understand how there really were two plausible sides to the dispute. Arrowood Indemnity Company v The Lubrizol Corporation is one such a decision. There, a policyholder sold...more

Maryland’s Highest Court Clarifies Toxic Tort Standards and Reverses a Punitive Damage Award in Excess of $1 Billion

by Mike Williams | Sedgwick LLP on 4/2/2013

The Maryland Court of Appeals clarified certain standards for toxic tort claims, reversed a judgment in excess of $1 billion in punitive damages, vacated approximately $640,000,000 in compensatory damages, and remanded...more

Q&A With Bilzin Sumberg's Howard Nelson

by Howard Nelson | Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP on 3/29/2013

Originally Published in Law360 on March 28, 2013. Howard Nelson, chairman of the environmental practice group at Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod LLP, has experience in environmental and land use law and zoning and...more

Ontario Court Rejects Damage Recovery in Contamination Claim, Adopting a Strict Analysis That May Hinder Future Claims

by Jack Coop, Jennifer Fairfax, Daniel Kirby, Patrick Welsh | Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on 3/26/2013

In Midwest v. Thordarson (Midwest) 2013 ONSC 775, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice dismissed a property owner’s claim for damages for remediation costs stemming from the alleged migration of contaminants from a...more

EPA Issues Revised Enforcement Guidance Regarding Tenant Liability Under CERCLA’s Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser Provision

by Douglas Eilender | Cole Schotz on 2/27/2013

Late last year, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued Revised Enforcement Guidance Regarding the Treatment of Tenants under the Federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and...more

DEEP Updates Engineered Control Financial Assurance Guidance

by Pullman & Comley, LLC on 2/22/2013

On January 31, 2013, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) unveiled revisions to guidance on financial assurance for engineered control variances under the Remediation Standard Regulations...more

Sudden and Accidental Pollution in Massachusetts — Not Always Fatal To Coverage

by Robert S. Sanoff | Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law on 2/22/2013

In some jurisdictions, an environmental claim under a liability policy with a “sudden and accidental” pollution exclusion has the same prospect of success as a due process claim under the strict scrutiny standard — strict in...more

EPA Lifts Threat of CERCLA Liability for Some Tenants of Brownfields

by Thomas Hogan, Christopher Marraro | BakerHostetler on 2/18/2013

Tenants who lease currently or formerly contaminated property can now benefit from protections from cleanup liability that were once available only to purchasers of such property. EPA announced its new policy in a December...more

Recent Ruling Confirms That Cost of Compliance with a PRP Letter Is Insured Under CGL Policies

by Revelle Gwyn, Elizabeth Hamrick, Katherine Henry, Sid Trant | Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 2/8/2013

In a recent ruling of interest to any company named as a potentially responsible party (“PRP”) at a Superfund site anywhere in the country, the Alabama Supreme Court has followed the majority of state courts and held that a...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

Another Win for Pennsylvania Policyholders Concerning the Duty to Defend and the Pollution Exclusion

by Luke Debevec, John Ellison | Reed Smith on 2/6/2013

Policyholders with pollution-related liabilities in Pennsylvania scored another win in January, in the ongoing litigation battle with insurance companies that argue for the broadest possible interpretation of the "pollution...more

Bankruptcy Loses Arguments for Special Relief Under Prepetition Agreements for Environmental Liability

by Levi Jones | Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis LLP on 2/6/2013

A recent case from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York addressed the recurring conflict between the goals of bankruptcy law, which seeks to give debtors a fresh start, and the goals of federal and...more

First Circuit Affirms Pro-Rata Damages Verdict in Boston Gas

by Choate Hall & Stewart LLP on 1/29/2013

What you need to know: The US First Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s pro-rata, time-on-the-risk allocation of damages from environmental contamination in the long-running Boston Gas case. The court...more

Should Tenants Worry About Environmental Liabilities For Their Leased Property?

by Mark E. Beliveau, Kenneth Gray | Pierce Atwood LLP on 1/23/2013

By 2013, most property owners have heard of the advantages of performing environmental due diligence and conducting “All Appropriate Inquiry” by obtaining an Environmental Site Assessment before purchase. Doing so is key to...more

In Alabama, Cost of Complying with a PRP letter Now Insured Under CGL Policies

by Revelle Gwyn, Elizabeth Hamrick, Katherine Henry, Sid Trant | Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP on 1/16/2013

In a recent ruling of interest to any company named as a potentially responsible party (“PRP”) at a Superfund site, the Alabama Supreme Court has held that a PRP letter constitutes a “suit” under a comprehensive general...more

EPA Revises Guidance Regarding Tentants As Bona Fide Prospective Purchasers

by Lynn Manolopoulos | Davis Wright Tremaine LLP on 1/14/2013

On December 5, 2012, EPA issued new guidance discussing the potential applicability of the bona fide prospective purchaser (BFPP) protection to tenants....more

EPA Guidance Further Clarifies The Protections Available To Tenants Under Superfund’s BFPP Defense

by Ronald Farley | Burr & Forman on 1/11/2013

As part of an evolving effort to encourage the redevelopment of brownfield properties, the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA” or “Superfund”) was amended in 2002 to provide...more

EPA Provides Comfort to Prospective Tenants at Contaminated Properties

by Christopher J. McAuliffe | Morgan Lewis on 12/19/2012

Revised guidance details how tenants may benefit from the bona fide prospective purchaser protections under CERCLA. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on December 5 issued revised guidance that addresses...more

EPA Revised Guidance Encourages Renewable Energy and Other Industry Development on Contaminated Properties

by Amy L. Edwards | Holland & Knight LLP on 12/14/2012

On December 5, 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued revised guidance regarding whether lessees of contaminated or formerly contaminated property may claim protection from liability under the...more

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