RECENT FEDERAL DECISIONS

May 2002

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Defendant Held Jointly and Severally Liable for All Removal Costs where Several Chemicals Caused a "Single Harm"
United States v. Agway, Inc.

On March 28, 2002, the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York held under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) that removal costs should not be apportioned on the basis of "volumetric contribution" where there is a single harm and the chemicals causing the harm have become commingled. Because the removal costs could not be apportioned, a defendant was found to be jointly and severally liable for all removal action costs incurred by the United States.