When Parents Act Like Children: Cercla Liabilityof A Parent Corporation For Its Subsidiaryrncorporation

摘要

The Supreme Court's Bestfoods principles balance the expectations of corporate owners and the need to hold those responsible for environmental pollution financially liable for cleanup costs. It maintains the insulation from liability that the corporate form is intended to create but recognizes that specific types of acts may create liability independent of the corporate form. This balance is only effective, however, when the facts of a case are considered in the aggregate. While a single act blurring the line between parent and subsidiary may not establish that the parent acted as an operator of the subsidiary's facilities, continuous acts aimed at the controlling subsidiary's management of a facility may give rise to direct operator liability.