ELR Citation: ELR 20133
No(s). 81-0851 (E.D. Pa. Jul 28, 1987)

The court holds that Philadelphia, as the owner of a municipal landfill at which two employees accepted bribes to allow unlawful hazardous waste disposal, is liable under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). Liability attaches through mere ownership of the facility, either currently or at the time of disposal. Causation or knowledge of the hazardous condition is not required. The court holds that voluntary cleanup by a liable party does not relieve it of further liability. Because Congress created a rule of strict liability and specific defenses to that rule, the court does not evaluate whether holding Philadelphia liable would be fair or unfair.

The court holds that the third-party defense to CERCLA liability in CERCLA §107(b)(3) is not available to Philadelphia. This is a statutory defense, and Congress did not incorporate the common-law principle that an employer is liable only for the negligent acts of its employees done within the scope of their employment. Congress limited the third-party defense to situations where the defendant has no connection at all to the third party. Here, the employees accepted bribes and permitted the disposal of hazardous wastes during their working hours while they were on the job. The court observes that in the 1986 CERCLA Amendments, Congress qualified the third-party defense by excluding certain land contracts, but left its applicability to a case such as this unaffected.

[Prior decisions in this case appear at 12 ELR 20915 and 14 ELR 20007.]

Counsel for Plaintiff
Frederick C. Bader
1540 Municipal Services Bldg., Philadelphia PA 19102
(215) 686-8000

Counsel for Defendant
Michele Langer
Toll, Ebby & Gough
1760 Market St., 6th Fl., Philadelphia PA 19103
(215) 567-5770