ELR Citation: ELR 20196
No(s). 04-22421-svk (Bankr. Ct. E.D. Wis. Sep 27, 2005)

A bankruptcy court disallows companies' claims against a debtor for costs associated with the cleanup of a variety of environmental hazardous waste at a recycling site in Wylie, Texas. The companies and the debtor, which are potentially responsible parties with respect to that site, entered into a participation agreement to work together to comply with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) requests and better manage the cleanup. The agreement provided that the debtor can withdraw from the agreement, and the debtor exercised that right of withdrawal at a time when it owed no money to the companies. And without the benefit of the agreement, the companies' claims cannot survive scrutiny. The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Cooper Industries, Inc. v. Aviall Services, Inc., 125 S. Ct. 577, 34 ELR 20154 (2004), limits the companies' ability to make a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) §113(f) contribution claim against the debtor. And although Aviall is silent as to whether an implied contribution right may exist under CERCLA §107(a), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has rejected an implied contribution remedy under §107(a).