The federal government must reimburse four oil companies for the cost of cleaning up waste from the manufacture of aviation gasoline during World War II, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit held in a contract dispute over superfund payments (Shell Oil Co. v. United States, 2014 BL 116461, Fed. Cir., No. 13-5051, 4/28/14). Superfund cleanup costs constitute "charges" within the meaning of the taxes clause in the oil companies' original government contracts, the court held April 28, reversing the decision of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.
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