The Fourth Circuit affirmed a lower court decision allocating response costs to various PRPs in connection with the cleanup of hazardous substances at a former fertilizer manufacturing site in Charleston, South Carolina. After incurring response costs, the current owner of a portion of the site brou...

A district court held that genuine issues of material fact preclude a grant of summary judgment in a petroleum distributor's contribution claim against an oil company for costs incurred cleaning up hazardous substance contamination at a gas station and bulk petroleum storage plant formerly leased by...

A district court stayed a bankrupt mining company's contribution claims against various defendants for response costs and natural resource damages incurred in connection with the Tri-States Mining District until the amount of total liabilities are determined. The Tri-States area, where lead and zinc...

The Ninth Circuit upheld the dismissal of an insurance company's subrogation suit for recovery of insurance payments made to its insured for environmental response costs the insured incurred cleaning up pollutants released on its property. The company claimed that the defendants should be held joint...

The Fourth Circuit, in an unpublished opinion, affirmed a lower court decision dismissing an electronic manufacturer's CERCLA claim against the United States for costs it incurred cleaning up tricholoroethylene (TCE) contamination on a parcel of property in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The manufact...

A district court held that a mining company that operates a smelter in Canada is liable as an arranger under CERCLA for the release and threatened release of hazardous substances in the Upper Columbia River. The company stipulated that it discharged slag and effluent into the Columbia River from its...

A district court held that a refinery that settled in bankruptcy court its liability for response costs incurred at a Superfund site may seek contribution from a mining company. The mining company argued that the settlement agreement for which the refinery seeks contribution only resolves the refine...

A bankruptcy court denied a company's motion to dismiss a bankruptcy trustee's CERCLA §107 claim against it for response costs incurred by the debtor to EPA, New York, and a manufacturer as a result of the debtor's settlement of their CERCLA claims. The company argued that the trustee cannot recove...

A district court held that the bar to transfer of CERCLA liability applies to contribution claims brought between and among third parties, not just the U.S. government. CERCLA §107(e)(1) provides that "no indemnification, hold harmless, or similar agreement or conveyance shall be effective to trans...

A district court denied a mining company's motion to dismiss a smelting company's contribution claim against it for response costs and natural resources damages incurred at an old smelting operation in the Southeast Missouri Mining District. The mining company argued that the smelting company, which...