ELR Citation: 46 ELR 20163
No(s). 1-cv-05827 (N.D. Ill. Oct 11, 2016) (St. Eve, J.)

A district court denied a waste hauling company's motion to dismiss a CERCLA suit filed against it for alleged soil and groundwater contamination contributed by its predecessor to a hazardous waste site in Chicago, Illinois. The company argued that the current owner of the site failed to sufficiently allege facts that would support any of the four exceptions to the general rule that an asset purchaser does not acquire the liabilities of a seller. But the court disagreed. The owner alleged sufficient factual details plausibly alleging the company's successor liability under both the mere continuation and de facto merger exceptions, specifically: the company and its predecessor have similar or the same corporate officers, operate the same type of business, and use the same EPA identification number. That is all that is required at this juncture.