ELR Citation: 44 ELR 20235
No(s). 03-CV-5985 (E.D.N.Y. Oct 22, 2014) (Lindsay, M.J.)

A district court, on motions for partial summary judgment, dismissed a property owner's CERCLA claims against a lessee who subleased the property to a dry cleaner, who then allowed perchloroethylene to be released into groundwater. The owner sought contribution from the lessee for past and future environmental response costs incurred at the site, arguing that the lessee's status as a sublessor made it liable as a de facto owner within the meaning of CERCLA. But the court disagreed. Many of the lease's terms restricted the lessee's use of the site, and when considered together, the requisite indicia of ownership that might transform the lessee into an owner are simply lacking. Because the lessee lacked most of the core bundle of rights that are associated with ownership of property, it cannot be held liable under CERCLA as a de facto owner.