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Supreme Court to Hear Superfund Cases

Posted on: Thursday, 2 October 2008, 21:00 CDT

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear cases that could put new limits on claims against companies for cleaning up federal Superfund sites.

Legal Newsline reported Thursday that the high court agreed to hear the case involving Shell Oil Co. and Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corp.

The court will consider whether the federal government can recover cleanup costs from companies even if they are not directly responsible for contamination of a federal Superfund site.

Shell, which delivered chemicals to the site, argued that it was not responsible for "sloppy handling" of chemicals by now-defunct Brown & Bryant Inc., which once operated a chemical distribution facility at the Avrin, Calif., Superfund site.

Although a federal court ruled that Shell and the railroad could only be held responsible for their share of liability, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled they could be held jointly and severally liable for the cleanup costs.

Business groups have argued that allowing the appeals court ruling to stand would impose "substantial and unwarranted burdens" on chemical manufacturers and suppliers, Legal Newsline reported.

The cases are Shell Oil vs. United States, 07-1607 and Santa Fe Railway Co. vs. United States, 07-1601.

Source: United Press International

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