ELR Citation: 44 ELR 20061
No(s). 11-2917 (2d Cir. Mar 18, 2014)

The Second Circuit held that CERCLA does not allow a subcontractor hired to perform cleanup activities on a site the right to recover the value of unpaid work directly from the landowner. The landowner paid a general contractor for costs associated with the cleanup of a contaminated parcel of land. When the general contractor failed to remit those payments to the subcontractor who had performed work on the site, the subcontractor sought payment directly from the landowner. But CERCLA does not grant the subcontractor a right of recovery against the landowner under these circumstances, as it effectively would require the landowner to pay twice for the same work performed—once to the contractor and once to the subcontractor. The judgment of the lower court was therefore reversed and remanded.