In Reversal, District Court Rejects Divisibility In Fox River CERCLA Ruling

摘要

A federal district court has thrown out an earlier decision that backed a potentially responsible party's (PRP) divisibility arguments that would have limited its Superfund cleanup liability at the massive Fox River, WI, site, and is now agreeing with the United States and others that the party had used "unreliable" evidence to establish its divisibility defense. The Oct. 19 ruling in United States v. NCR Corporation, et al. grants motions for reconsideration by the United States and PRPs other than NCR at the site and marks a second reversal by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin in the case. While the Supreme Court found in a 2009 ruling that liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability Act (CERCLA) could be apportioned, lower courts have often rejected divisibility of harm arguments on case-specific grounds. See page 2 for details.