U.S. v. Atlantic Research Corporation

Case Updates

Agreeing with NCLC, the Supreme Court affirmed the Eighth Circuit’s conclusion.

NCLC filed a brief urging the Supreme Court to affirm the Eighth Circuit’s conclusion that the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), otherwise known as the Superfund Act, permits a party which voluntarily cleans up a polluted site to recover the cleanup costs from the responsible parties. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision inCooper Industries v. Aviall, the lower courts have been divided as to the availability of such reimbursement. In its brief, NCLC argued that the statute’s plain language and basic principles of fairness require that CERCLA be read to provide a right of contribution for voluntary cleanup costs.