» Michael Einhorn
Ninth Circuit Holds District Courts Must Engage In An Independent Substantive Evaluation Of CERCLA Consent Decrees And May Not Afford A State Agency The Same Level Of Deference As EPA
August 8th, 2014
In State of Arizona v. Raytheon Co.. et al., Case No. 12-15691, 2014 U.S. App. LEXIS 14993 (9th Cir. Aug. 1, 2014), the Ninth Circuit reaffirmed the requirement that district courts engage in meaningful substantive review of consent decrees under the…
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Categories: CERCLA
Tags: Michael Einhorn
District Court Holds that Prior CERCLA § 107(a) Cost Recovery Action Against a Party Limits the Party to § 113(f)(1) Contribution Claim in Subsequent Action
March 12th, 2014
The District Court for the Central District of California recently held in an unpublished opinion that a party cannot bring a CERCLA § 107(a) cost recovery action for response costs which relate to a common liability shared with an earlier § 107(a)…
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Tags: Michael Einhorn
California Governor Signs Bill To Limit Certain Prop. 65 Lawsuits
October 10th, 2013
Governor Jerry Brown recently signed into law Assembly Bill 227 (Gatto) to provide a two-week grace period to address certain alleged violations of failure-to-warn requirements under Proposition 65. In addition to the previously required “60-day”…
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Ninth Circuit Court Holds that Clean Water Act does not Bar Citizen Suit where State had not Commenced an Action “to Require Compliance” with a NPDES Permit
August 12th, 2013
By Michael Einhorn and Nancy Wilms In California Sportfishing Protection Alliance v. Chico Scrap Metal, Inc., Case No. 11-16959 (9th Cir. July 22, 2013), plaintiff California Sportfishing Protection Alliance (“Plaintiff”) alleged that defendants…
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Ninth Circuit Holds Wood Preservative from Utility Poles Discharged into the Environment does not Violate the Clean Water Act or RCRA
July 1st, 2013
In Ecological Rights Foundation v. Pacific Gas and Electric Company, 713 F.3d 502 (9th Cir. April 3, 2013), the Ninth Circuit panel affirmed the dismissal of a citizen suit alleging utility poles discharged wood preservative containing pentachlorophe…
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Fourth Circuit Holds Zero-Share Apportionment Unavailable to Current Owner or Operator PRPs but Affirms Zero-Share Allocation; Rejects Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser Defense Due to a Failure to Exercise Appropriate Care
May 6th, 2013
By Michael Einhorn and Tiffany Hedgpeth In PCS Nitrogen Inc. v. Ashley II of Charleston, the Fourth Circuit (“Court”) affirmed the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina’s rulings addressing CERCLA liability at a former fertiliz…
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California Passes AB 1442, which Defines “Pharmaceutical Waste” and Authorizes its Transportation by Generators or Common Carriers under Certain Conditions
April 1st, 2013
A pharmaceutical waste hauling bill, AB 1442 (Wieckowski), was chaptered into law on September 29, 2012 and went into effect on January 1, 2013. AB 1442 amends California’s Medical Waste Management Act (MWMA),[1] to define “pharmaceutical waste…
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Supreme Court denies petition by Solutia, Inc. to address whether a party to a consent decree may file a cost recovery action under CERCLA Section 107(a).
October 10th, 2012
On October 9, 2012, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the petition of Solutia, Inc. and Pharmacia Corporation to review a March 6, 2012 ruling by the Eleventh Circuit which affirmed a grant of summary judgment and held that parties subject to a consent d…
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Ninth Circuit Holds That Dry Cleaning Equipment Manufacturer Is Not Liable as an Arranger under CERCLA or on State Law Nuisance and Trespass Claims
August 11th, 2011
In Team Enterprises, LLC v. Western Investment Real Estate Trust, No. 10-16916, 2011 U.S. App. LEXIS 15383 (9th Cir., Cal. July 26, 2011), the Ninth Circuit held that the manufacturer of a machine used in the dry cleaning process may not be held liab…
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Supreme Court Denies GE’s Petition on Suit Challenging Constitutionality of EPA’s Unilateral Administrative Order Authority
June 17th, 2011
On June 6, 2011, the Supreme Court denied a petition for certiorari by General Electric (GE) to hear the appeal of General Electric v. Jackson, a lengthy case in which GE had unsuccessfully challenged the constitutionality of the Comprehensive Enviro…
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Tags: Michael Einhorn