Liable Party May Pursue Joint and Several Liability Under CERCLA Section 107

摘要

On December 21, 2007, the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas ruled that a potentially responsible party (PRP) seeking cost recovery under CERCLA Section 107 can seek to impose joint and several liability on other PRPs in certain circumstances (Raytheon Aircraft Company v. United States, No. 05-2328 [D. Kan., Dec. 21, 2007]). Joint and several liability means that each defendant in a lawsuit can be liable for the entire amount of the damages, regardless of the defendant's relative degree of fault or responsibility. The district court found that the possibility of obtaining joint and several liability from other PRPs provides a PRP with incentive to voluntarily clean up a site in hopes of recovering its response costs from other PRPs who were not as responsive.