• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

McCarter & English Logo

  • People
  • Services
  • Insights
  • Our Firm
    • Leadership Team
    • Social Justice
    • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
    • Pro Bono
    • Client Service Values
    • Alumni
  • Join Us
    • Lawyers
    • Summer Associates
    • Patent Professionals
    • Professional Staff
    • Job Openings
  • Locations
    • Boston
    • Philadelphia
    • East Brunswick
    • Indianapolis
    • Stamford
    • Hartford
    • Trenton
    • Miami
    • Washington, DC
    • New York
    • Wilmington
    • Newark
  • Share

Share

Browse Alphabetically:

  • A
  • B
  • C
  • D
  • E
  • F
  • G
  • H
  • I
  • J
  • K
  • L
  • M
  • N
  • O
  • P
  • Q
  • R
  • S
  • T
  • U
  • V
  • W
  • X
  • Y
  • Z
  • All
Bankruptcy, Restructuring & Litigation
Blockchain, Smart Contracts & Digital Currencies
Business Litigation
Cannabis
Coronavirus Resource Center
Corporate
Crisis Management
Cybersecurity & Data Privacy
Delaware Corporate, LLC & Partnership Law
Design, Fashion & Luxury
E-Discovery & Records Management
Energy & Utilities
Environment & Energy
Financial Institutions
Food & Beverage
Government Affairs
Government Contracts & Global Trade
Government Investigations & White Collar Defense
Healthcare
Hospitality
Immigration
Impact Investing
Insurance Recovery, Litigation & Counseling
Intellectual Property
Labor & Employment
Life Sciences
Manufacturing
Products Liability, Mass Torts & Consumer Class Actions
Public Finance
Real Estate
Renewable Energy
Sports & Entertainment
Tax & Employee Benefits
Technology Transactions
Transportation, Logistics & Supply Chain Management
Trusts, Estates & Private Clients
Venture Capital & Emerging Growth Companies
  • Broadcasts
  • Events
  • News
  • Publications
  • View All Insights
Search By:
Insights News Printing News
Main image for NJ High Court Prevents Rush to Courthouse on Spill Suits
News|Quote

NJ High Court Prevents Rush to Courthouse on Spill Suits

Law360

1.27.2015

The New Jersey Supreme Court’s rejection of a six-year window for private contribution actions over contaminated sites should foster negotiations before litigation erupts and promote site cleanups by closing an escape hatch for alleged polluters who may owe a share of the costs, attorneys say.

Monday’s decision for shopping center owner Morristown Associates restores and bolsters a long-held understanding, in state court at least, that no statute of limitations covers private claims seeking cleanup and removal expenses under the New Jersey Spill Compensation and Control Act, many environmental practitioners say.

That understanding was rattled in 2013 when the state Appellate Division backed summary judgment for heating oil companies and the onetime owners of a dry-cleaning business that Morristown Associates sued for the cost of cleaning up leaks from the pipes of an underground storage tank. In a published decision, the appellate court retroactively applied a general six-year limitations period in the state for property damage claims to the company’s demand for contribution.

But the Supreme Court found that, based on the plain language of the Spill Act, lawmakers didn’t intend to provide contribution targets with a statute of limitations defense. That also fits with the Spill Act’s role as remedial legislation that’s supposed to cast a wide net over entities that are responsible for the discharge of hazardous substances, the court said.

While some parties rushed to file suits and preserve claims following the appellate decision, the clarity provided by the Supreme Court should give property owners and their attorneys ample time to evaluate site-specific issues and work toward settlements with other potentially responsible entities over cleanup costs.

If parties do decide to bring claims, they can do so after all the costs have been established and the evidence backing those expenses has been collected, according to Ira M. Gottlieb, who heads McCarter & English LLP’s environment and energy practice group.

“This may provide contribution plaintiffs with an advantage in litigation that may occur many years after a spill or release occurred, and after structures have been removed or altered, witnesses are lost and other evidence grows stale or is no longer available,” Gottlieb said.

more information

sidebar

pdfemail

Related People

Media item: Ira M. Gottlieb
Ira M. Gottlieb

Partner

Related Services

Environment & Energy
Environment & Energy Litigation
Subscribe to our Insights
McCarter & English, LLP
Copyright © 2023 McCarter & English, LLP. All Rights Reserved.
  • Login
  • Attorney Advertising
  • Privacy
  • Awards Methodology
  • Contact
  • Subscribe
  • Sitemap

The McCarter & English, LLP website is for informational purposes only. We do not provide legal advice on this website. We can provide legal advice only to our clients in specific inquiries that they address to us. If you are interested in becoming a client, please contact us, but do not send any information about your specific legal question. We cannot serve as your lawyers until we establish an attorney-client relationship, which can occur only after we follow procedures within our firm and after we agree to the terms of the representation.

Accept Cancel