ELR Citation: ELR 20291
No(s). 89-4340 (D.N.J. Nov 19, 2008)

A district court held that a manufacturer is liable under Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability (CERCLA) and the New Jersey Spill Compensation and Control Act for contribution costs incurred by settling potentially responsible parties at a Superfund site in Mantua, New Jersey. The manufacturer argued that due to disputed evidence regarding the precise chemical makeup of waste at the site, it had a strong divisibility defense to liability under CERCLA. But while the divisibility defense to joint and several liability is frequently invoked in cost recovery actions brought under §107(a), it is not a defense to a contribution action under §113(f). Because the manufacturer admitted its waste contained copper and zinc, both of which were present at the site, it is responsible for the release of hazardous substances as a matter of law. Further, the response costs incurred, and response actions taken, by the settling parties were consistent with the national contingency plan.

[Prior decisions in this litigation are published at 21 ELR 20879, 26 ELR 20856, 27 ELR 20878, and 29 ELR 20294.]