Environmental & Energy
Apr. 23, 2013
Fact or fiction: apportionment and divisibility under CERCLA
Decisions handed down in 2012 have made "divisibility" more difficult to establish as a defense.
Earl Hagstrom
Partner, Sedgwick LLP
Since enacted in 1980, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability Act (CERCLA), 42 USC Sections 9601 et seq., has been interpreted as imposing a strict liability, as well as a joint and several liability, standard. This despite the fact that the phrase "joint and several" does not appear anywhere in the liability provisions of the statute. Nevertheless, in cases where potentially responsible parties (PRPs) are able to prove that the alleged harm is divisible,...
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