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settlementplaintiffliability

settlement

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Akzo Nobel Coatings, Inc. v. Aigner Corp., 197 F.3d 302, 49 ERC 1609, 30 Envtl. L. Rep. 20,180

Facts

Five years prior, a settlement with the EPA did not foreclose claims for contribution among firms that sent solvents for reprocessing to Fisher–Calo Chemicals, which mishandled them. After the EPA placed the Fisher–Calo site on the National Priorities List, Akzo performed some cleanup work in a portion of the site for which it is responsible. Akzo and Aigner, representing approximately 50 additional firms, demanded contribution from each other for cleanup costs, leading to the current dispute over the allocation of those costs.

Five years ago we held that a settlement with the epa did not foreclose claims for contribution among firms that sent solvents for reprocessing to Fisher–Calo Chemicals, which handled them poorly.

Issue

The main legal issues were whether plaintiffs were responsible for a portion of the cleanup costs, whether the allocation of responsibility could be determined by the toxicity of solvents, and how to account for third-party payments in the allocation of costs.

The main legal issue(s) or question(s) the court needed to resolve.

Rule

The court applied the principle that in resolving contribution claims, the court may allocate response costs among liable parties using equitable factors as deemed appropriate, as stated in Section 113(f)(1) of CERCLA.

The court applied the principle that in resolving contribution claims, the court may allocate response costs among liable parties using such equitable factors as the court determines are appropriate.

Analysis

The court found that the Fisher–Calo business premises must be treated as a single site for CERCLA purposes, making it unnecessary to trace distinct harms within that site. The judge concluded that it was not possible to identify distinct harms due to sparse records and high costs of matching inputs to outputs. The court also rejected the argument that costs should be apportioned based on the toxicity of the solvents, emphasizing that the allocation should reflect the actual costs of cleanup rather than toxicity alone.

The court found that the Fisher–Calo business premises must be treated as a single site for CERCLA purposes, making it unnecessary to trace distinct harms within that site.

Conclusion

The court affirmed the district court's decision that Akzo is responsible for contributing to the cleanup costs of the Fisher–Calo site, but vacated the specific quantification of Akzo's contribution liability, remanding the case for further proceedings to account for third-party collections.

The court affirmed the district court's decision that Akzo is responsible for contributing to the cleanup costs of the Fisher–Calo site.

Who won?

Aigner prevailed in the case as the court upheld the requirement for Akzo to contribute to the cleanup costs, emphasizing the equitable allocation of costs among responsible parties.

Aigner prevailed in the case as the court upheld the requirement for Akzo to contribute to the cleanup costs.

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