Contamination

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Valbruna Slater Steel Corp. (Valbruna) knew about the extensive contamination from a former owner’s industrial operations when it bought the Indiana steel mill out of bankruptcy in 2004.  As many do when buying contaminated property, Valbruna negotiated a Prospective Purchaser Agreement (PPA) with the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) and escrowed $500,000 for the…

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) is now requiring all sites entering into a state cleanup program to sample for two of the more popular and well-known “emerging contaminants” – 1,4-dioxane and Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances (aka PFAS) – in soil, groundwater, surface water, sediment, and, where applicable, biota.  There is currently…

Property owners who suffer damages as a result of contamination must be aware of time limitations to recover damages.   A New Jersey appellate court recently upheld the rule that, unlike recovery of cleanup costs in contribution actions under the New Jersey Spill Compensation and Control Act, recovery of other damages under tort theories, such as…

The New Jersey Tax Court recently ruled in Methode Electronics, Inc. v. Twp. Of Willingboro, Docket Nos. 019012-2010 and 014098-2011 (Tax January 22, 2015) that the assessment on contaminated property located in Willingboro, New Jersey must be reduced to a mere nominal amount due to its undevelopable condition.  In Methode, the property owner…

In a recent unpublished opinion, a New Jersey Appellate Division court upheld the lower court’s dismissal of an insurance coverage action for environmental contamination. In Spartan Oil Company v. New Jersey Property-Liability Insurance Guaranty Association, decided June 8, 2012, Spartan Oil had purchased and subsequently renewed a commercial vehicle insurance policy from Planet Insurance…