What Evidence Will Justify an Allocation of Liability Among Responsible Parties Under Superfund?

Authors

Robert H. Abrams, Florida A&M University College of LawFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2009

Abstract

Burlington No. & Santa Fe R. Co. v. United States and Shell Oil Co. v. United States Docket Nos. 07-1601 and 07-1607. Argument date: February 24, 2009, From: The Ninth Circuit

Case at a Glance: Over a 30-year period Shell Oil delivered bulk agricultural chemicals to a now-contaminated reseller's site in California. Part of the site was leased from Burlington Northern Railroad. When the site operator failed, the United States and California incurred costs in cleaning the parcel and successfully sought to impose joint and several liability on Shell and the railroad. Shell contends it is not liable under Superfund and both responsible parties contest the imposition of joint and several liability.

Comments

Copyright 2009 by the American Bar Association. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.

Recommended Citation

Robert H. Abrams, What Evidence Will Justify an Allocation of Liability Among Responsible Parties Under Superfund? 36 Preview U.S. Sup. Ct. Cas. 295 ( 2009)