Asarco's Contribution Claims Stayed At Three-State Site Until Total Liability Found

摘要

Superfund contribution claims brought by bankrupt mining company Asarco LLC regarding contamination in a three-state area will be stayed pending determinations of the scope of cleanups and natural resource damage, a federal trial court in Missouri has ruled (Asarco LLC v. NL Industries Inc., W.D. Mo., No. 11-00138-CV, 3/18/13). "Although the amount of Asarco's payments is known, the amount of total liabilities, a prerequisite to a contribution right, is not," the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri said in a March 18 decision The claims relate to the 2,500 square-mile Tri-States Mining District in southwest Missouri, southeast Kansas, and northeast Oklahoma, where lead and zinc were produced for more than 100 years.