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Recent CERCLA Decisions: Complexities of Contribution Claims, Arranger Liability, Divisibility, Settlement

Recording of a 90-minute CLE video webinar with Q&A

This program is included with the Strafford CLE Pass. Click for more information.
This program is included with the Strafford All-Access Pass. Click for more information.

Conducted on Tuesday, December 6, 2022

Recorded event now available

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This CLE course will discuss the latest key appellate and Supreme Court CERCLA decisions, provide insights into lessons from the courts for environmental counsel and their clients going forward, and offer best practices for handling CERCLA issues.

Description

Counsel must be up to date and understand the significant developments over the past year from federal court rulings. Further, counsel must follow the decisions by the administration that have affected the likelihood of CERCLA suits.

Recent rulings also conclude that federal district courts have an independent obligation to scrutinize CERCLA settlement terms rather than giving full deference to the parties. Under this standard, courts must independently examine the terms of a consent decree by comparing "the proportion of total projected costs to be paid by the [settling parties] with the proportion of liability attributable to them."

Further, several years after the landmark Supreme Court decision in Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. v. United States, 556 U.S. 599 (2009), federal courts of appeal and district courts continue to clarify the circumstances in which a person is liable as an "arranger" under CERCLA for arranging for the disposal of hazardous substances.

Listen as our panel of environmental attorneys analyzes the latest and most important federal court CERCLA decisions. The panel will provide insight into what those decisions mean going forward and offer best practices for handling CERCLA issues.

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Outline

  1. Supreme Court CERCLA decisions
  2. District court CERCLA decisions
  3. Federal appellate court CERCLA decisions
  4. Decisions by the administration
  5. What the decisions mean for future cases
  6. Best practices in light of recent CERCLA decisions

Benefits

The panel will review these and other key issues:

  • Under what circumstances do companies need to proactively address potential parent liability for CERCLA cleanup costs caused by a subsidiary?
  • What triggers an obligation on the part of a federal district court to delve into the terms of a CERCLA settlement agreement?
  • Do consent decrees related to a CERCLA case start the three-year statute of limitations?
  • What evidence is necessary to establish the divisibility of harm and avoid joint and several liability under CERCLA?
  • What changes, if any, by the current administration impact the likelihood of CERCLA actions proceeding?

Faculty

McGrath, Peter
Peter J. McGrath, Jr.
Member
Moore & Van Allen

A frequent lecturer and author on diverse environmental issues, Mr. McGrath brings to his wide-ranging clients...  |  Read More

Fellers, Denise
Denise G. Fellers
Partner
Morgan Lewis & Bockius

Ms. Fellers focuses her practice on environmental law, with an emphasis on litigation relating to groundwater...  |  Read More

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