News & Analysis as of

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Clean-Up Costs Supreme Court of the United States

Farrell Fritz, P.C.

US Supreme Court Rules that CERCLA-Specific Settlement is a Pre-Requisite to a CERCLA Contribution Claim

Farrell Fritz, P.C. on

In May 2021, the Supreme Court ruled in Territory of Guam v. United States, 593 U.S. __ (2021), on the issue of whether a settlement resolving environmental liabilities was sufficient to establish a right of contribution for...more

Woods Rogers

Resolved, yet Unclear: Supreme Court Tightens CERCLA Contribution Claim Requirements

Woods Rogers on

In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled that a party’s right to contribution claims under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) after entering into a settlement arises...more

Robinson & Cole LLP

U.S. Supreme Court Clarifies Predicates to CERCLA Contribution Actions - Guam v. United States, No. 20-382 (May 24, 2021)

Robinson & Cole LLP on

In siding with the Territory of Guam in its dispute with the United States over costs to clean up the Ordot Landfill, the Supreme Court has resolved a circuit court split over which types of administrative settlements trigger...more

Stoel Rives LLP

U.S. Supreme Court Decision Revives Guam Suit, Clarifies CERCLA, and Provides Cautionary Tale

Stoel Rives LLP on

Does a consent decree under the Clean Water Act (“CWA”) trigger a three-year limitation period to bring a contribution claim under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) when the...more

Holland & Hart LLP

SCOTUS Seeks to Clarify Contribution Claims under CERCLA

Holland & Hart LLP on

Last week, in its unanimous decision Guam v. United States, No. 20-382, the United States Supreme Court attempted to clarify a statutory question regarding the right to seek contribution that has been a source of uncertainty...more

Jackson Walker

Justices Hold CWA Settlement Does Not Start the Clock on CERCLA Limitations

Jackson Walker on

In Territory of Guam v. United States, the Supreme Court unanimously held that claims for contribution under Section 113(f)(3)(B) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) require...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

SCOTUS Clarifies Scope of CERCLA Contribution Claims

This week, the U.S. Supreme Court decided the case of Guam v. United States, clarifying when contribution actions under CERCLA may be brought. In a unanimous decision overturning the D.C. Circuit, the Court held that a...more

Morgan Lewis

US Supreme Court: Settlement of CERCLA-Specific Liability Needed to Give Rise to CERCLA Contribution Claim

Morgan Lewis on

Reversing the US Court of Appeals for DC Circuit, a unanimous US Supreme Court held that Guam’s settlement of Clean Water Act liabilities did not give rise to and trigger the statute of limitations to bring a Comprehensive...more

Cole Schotz

Supreme Court To DOJ: “No”

Cole Schotz on

On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that a settlement of Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”)-specific liability is required to give rise to a contribution action...more

Bricker Graydon LLP

CERCLA contribution reach and the Guam do-over

Bricker Graydon LLP on

On May 24, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court released its opinion in the Territory of Guam v. United States case. At issue was whether Guam could maintain a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act...more

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP

Supreme Court Decides Guam v. United States

On May 24, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Guam v. United States, holding that contribution under CERCLA does not arise until there is a CERCLA-specific liability, even if there is a settlement that resolves liability...more

Beveridge & Diamond PC

Supreme Court Clarifies That Only CERCLA Settlements Trigger Contribution Claims

Beveridge & Diamond PC on

On May 24, the Supreme Court weighed in on an issue that for decades has bedeviled litigants under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA): When can potentially responsible parties...more

Beveridge & Diamond PC

Supreme Court to Decide Superfund Case with Significant Implications Regarding the Timing of CERCLA Contribution Claims

Beveridge & Diamond PC on

The U.S. Supreme Court will once again wade into the scope and meaning of CERCLA, granting Guam’s petition for certiorari in Territory of Guam v. United States, No. 20-382, petition for cert. granted (U.S. Jan. 8, 2021). This...more

Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis LLP

Atlantic Richfield v. Christian: Despite Initial Concerns, SCOTUS Decision Does Not Open Floodgates for State Court Challenges to...

Prior to April 2020, it seemed clear under prevailing federal case law that a disgruntled person could not use a state court lawsuit to change an environmental remedy approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)...more

(ACOEL) | American College of Environmental...

EPA Is The CERCLA Gatekeeper: Plaintiffs Need EPA Approval To Seek State Court Damages For Restoration

Landowners seeking restoration damages in state courts, at sites where there is a cleanup remedy previously selected by EPA, may pursue such claims only if they first obtain EPA approval for the proposed restoration work....more

Troutman Pepper

State Law Claims and CERCLA Remedial Actions: Making the Best of a Bad Decision

Troutman Pepper on

The U.S. Supreme Court recently announced a landmark decision under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Act), also known as the Superfund program. In the case of Atlantic...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Environmental Due Diligence in the Wake of Atlantic Richfield

Holland & Knight LLP on

The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Christian (Slip Op. No. 17-1498) confirmed the broad statutory definition of "Potentially Responsible Party" (PRP) under the Comprehensive Environmental Response,...more

Holland & Knight LLP

Supreme Court's Decision in Atlantic Richfield: Tip of the Iceberg or Tempest in a Teapot?

Holland & Knight LLP on

In Atlantic Richfield Company v. Christian, a decision issued on April 20, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that state courts may hear state common law claims seeking to compel remediation beyond what the U.S....more

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt PC

With EPA Approval, Landowners May Bring State Law Claims for Remedial Action in Addition to Ongoing Superfund Cleanup

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court determined that the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) does not preclude Montana residents from bringing state common law claims to recover the...more

Williams Mullen

Supreme Court Ruling Creates CERCLA Uncertainty

Williams Mullen on

The United States Supreme Court recently decided a case that will create considerable uncertainty for companies involved with cleanups under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA,...more

Lathrop GPM

Supreme Court Issues Important Superfund Ruling

Lathrop GPM on

On April 20, 2020 the United States Supreme Court handed down an important decision on the reaches of settlements involving the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, or “Superfund”)....more

Allen Matkins

SCOTUS: Landowners’ State Law Claims for Additional Cleanup Costs Can Proceed in State Court, But Additional Cleanup Must Be...

Allen Matkins on

On April 20, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its long-anticipated opinion in Atlantic Richfield Company v. Christian (No. 17-1498), holding that landowners whose properties are contaminated by neighboring Superfund sites...more

Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP

Supreme Court Confirms State Court Jurisdiction Over Property Damage Claims, but Limits Restoration Remedies for Superfund Sites

On April 20, 2020, in Atlantic Richfield Company v. Christian (ARCO v. Christian or ARCO), the U.S. Supreme Court held that federal Superfund law does not preclude individuals from filing state claims for further cleanup of...more

Fox Rothschild LLP

EPA-Approved Cleanups May Be Open To Challenges In Wake Of U.S. Supreme Court’s Ruling

Fox Rothschild LLP on

A group of Montana homeowners secured a hollow victory in the U.S. Supreme Court that appears to open the door wider than it has ever been to state court challenges of EPA remedial actions. In its 7-2 decision in Atlantic...more

Jones Day

U.S. Supreme Court Permits State Law Claims for Restoration Damages at Superfund Sites

Jones Day on

The Situation: The U.S. Supreme Court recently considered, in Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Christian, whether the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Recovery Act ("CERCLA") deprives Montana state courts of...more

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