CERCLA

CTS Corp. v. Waldburger

Issues

Does § 9658 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act apply to state statutes of repose in addition to state statutes of limitations?

In 2009, Respondent Peter Waldburger and other landowners discovered that their well water was contaminated with chemicals similar to the ones stored by CTS Corporation when it owned the land 20 years earlier. About two years after this discovery, Waldburger and the other landowners brought a nuisance action, subject to North Carolina law, against CTS. North Carolina requires that suits involving real property be brought within three years of the injury becoming discoverable (a statute of limitation) and within ten years of the defendant’s last act (a statute of repose). In attempting to prevent dismissal of this case, Waldburger argues that this latter ten year requirement is preempted by § 9658 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act ("CERCLA"). CTS argues that § 9658 does not apply to statutes of repose, only to statutes of limitations. The Supreme Court now has to consider whether § 9658 applies to statutes of repose. Resolution of this case will have far-reaching consequences, affecting both potential defendants, including industrial companies and the United States government, and potential victims of contamination and hazardous waste—which could include anyone who does not know that they are suffering injury from undiscovered hazardous waste.

Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties

For certain state-law tort actions involving environmental harms, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) preempts the state statute of limitations’ commencement date and replaces it with a delayed commencement date provided by federal law. Specifically, 42 U.S.C. § 9658 provides that if “the applicable limitations period for such an action (as specified in the State statute of limitations or under common law) provides a commencement date which is earlier than the federally required commencement date, such period shall commence at the federally required commencement date in lieu of the date specified in such State statute.” Id. § 9658(a)(1). Section 9658, in turn, defines “applicable limitations period”-i.e., the state laws to which § 9658 applies-to “mean[] the period specified in a statute of limitations during which a civil action referred to in subsection (a)(1) of this section may be brought.” Id § 9658(b)(2).

In this case, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit deepened a split in the state and federal appellate courts by interpreting § 9658 to preempt not just state statutes of limitations but also state statutes of repose. A statute of limitations extinguishes a claimant’s right to pursue a cause of action after a certain period of time following accrual, whereas a statute of repose abolishes a cause of action as to a particular defendant after a period of time, regardless of whether the claim has accrued.

The question presented is: Did the Fourth Circuit correctly interpret 42 U.S.C. § 9658 to apply to state statutes of repose in addition to state statutes of limitations?

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Facts

From 1959 to 1985, Petitioner CTS Corporation (“CTS”) operated a fifty-four acre facility in Asheville, North Carolina, where notable quantities of chemicals were stored. Waldburger v. CTS Corp. 723 F.3d 434, 440 (4th Cir. 2013). In 1987, CTS sold this property to Mills Gap Road Associates after promising realtors that the land was clean.

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Guam v. United States

Issues

Can a settlement that is not under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) or a settlement that does not explicitly resolve a party’s liability trigger a contribution claim under CERCLA Section 113(f)(3)(B)?

This case asks the Supreme Court to determine how two provisions of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”) allocate responsibility for cleaning up environmental sites. CERCLA Section 107 allows a party to recover direct costs of cleaning up a site from responsible parties, while Section 113 allows a party who has already settled its own responsibility to recover “contribution” from other responsible parties. The territory of Guam, which owns a toxic waste dump, sued the United States to help fund the dump cleanup under both Sections 107 and 113. However, the lower court found that the availability of Section 113 barred Guam’s Section 107 claim based on a previous settlement between Guam and the federal government unrelated to CERCLA. Petitioner Guam argues that a settlement that does not mention CERCLA and disclaims any liability determination cannot force a party to bring a Section 113 claim instead of a Section 107 claim. Respondent United States counters that Section 113 broadly encompasses settlements that resolve liability under other laws besides CERCLA. This case has implications for prompt cleanups of environmental hazards across the United States.

Questions as Framed for the Court by the Parties

(1) Whether a settlement that is not under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act can trigger a contribution claim under CERCLA Section 113(f)(3)(B); and
(2) whether a settlement that expressly disclaims any liability determination and leaves the settling party exposed to future liability can trigger a contribution claim under CERCLA Section 113(f)(3)(B).

In the 1940s, the United States Navy constructed a landfill, the Ordot Dump, on the island of Guam. Gov’t of Guam v. United States at 106–07.

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