ELR Citation: ELR 20560
No(s). CV 87-3472 (E.D.N.Y. Jan 11, 1990)

The court holds that a prior landowner, his corporate tenant, and the tenant's president are jointly and severally liable under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) to the current landowner for all past and future costs in investigation and cleanup of a hazardous waste site. The court finds that the current owner had no knowledge that the tenant generated any hazardous wastes that were discharged into the soil or that the site had been listed by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation as a suspected hazardous waste site. The court holds that the prior landowner was the "owner" of the facility under CERCLA §107(a) and that the tenant and tenant's president were "operators." Defendants are not entitled to contribution, since they did not assert a counterclaim for response costs and the current owner acquired the property after the placement of the hazardous substances on it.

[A previous decision in this litigation is published at 19 ELR 21084.]

Counsel for Plaintiff
David D. Patterson
Breed, Abbott & Morgan
153 E. 53rd St., New York NY 10022-4658
(212) 888-0800

Counsel for Defendant
Joseph Calderon
Linden & Deutsch
320 Park Ave., New York, NY 10022
(212) 758-1100