Sometimes a movie can solve one mystery but hold off answering others, leaving viewers eager for the sequel. Legal opinions can be the same, as is the Third Circuit’s opinion in Cranbury Brick Yard, LLC v. United States, No. 18-3287 (3^rd Cir. Nov. 22, 2019). After holding that the limitations period for a contribution action accrues from the date of entry into a non-judicial settlement and order on consent, the Court then sidesteps the issue of exactly what limitations period applies. Read More »

Share | Email| Comments|  Topics: CERCLA, Cleanup, Contamination, Contribution, Cost Recovery, Federal Tort Claims Act, New Jersey, Remediation, Statute of Limitations, Superfund, Third Circuit

Thanks to amendments to the New Jersey Spill Act in the summer of 2019, and the superior court, appellate division’s recent decision in NJDEP v. Alsol Corporation, No. A-3546-17T1, -- A.3d --, 2019 WL 5947024 (N.J. Super. App. Nov. 13, 2019), NJDEP has clear jurisdiction to bring civil penalty actions in municipal court for violations of the Spill Act.  Among the summer 2019 amendments to the New Jersey Spill Act was the addition of an explanatory sentence at the end of N.J.S.A. 58:10-23.11u(d), the statutory section providing jurisdiction for NJDEP’s issuance of civil penalties in superior or municipal court, as shown by the underlining below. Read More »

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Relying on Texas caselaw, the Fifth Circuit, in Gao v. Blue Ridge Landfill TX, L.P., No. 19-40062 (5^th Cir. Oct. 30, 2019), affirmed a district court decision which held that homeowners who moved near a preexisting landfill were subject to a two-year statute of limitations to bring suit based on odors emanating from the landfill. The case, while reliant on state law, nonetheless suggests that such claims that sound in nuisance need to be brought quickly, and that even a change in operations or uptick in odor complaints may be insufficient to reset the clock on the viability of claims. Read More »

Share | Email| Comments|  Topics: Air, Fifth Circuit, Landfill, Nuisance, Odors, Statute of Limitations, Texas, Waste