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Environmental Liability: Equipment Lessor Is Responsible Under CERCLA for Cleanup Costs As the Owner of a 'Facility'
Equipment lessors need to learn a new acronym: CERCLA. It stands for the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, and it has the potential to expose lessors to millions of dollars in environmental liability. This according to the recent Illinois federal district court case of United States v. Saporito, 210 WL 489703 (N.D.Ill. Feb. 9, 2010). Before discussing the case, some background is in order.
Cleanup of environmentally contaminated real estate is frequently a very expensive proposition. CERCLA (a/k/a Superfund) is the federal law that deals with the nation's most polluted sites. The cost of cleanup at an average CERCLA site is in excess of $30 million. To establish who must pay these costs, the federal law identifies four groups: 1) The current owner and/or operator of a facility; 2) the owner and operator of the facility at the time of the release; 3) anyone who arranges for the disposal of hazardous waste; and 4) a transporter of hazardous waste.
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later
The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.
The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs
The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.
Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations
This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.
Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough
There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.
A Lawyer's System for Active Reading
Active reading comprises many daily tasks lawyers engage in, including highlighting, annotating, note taking, comparing and searching texts. It demands more than flipping or turning pages.