Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co. et al. v. United States

In this Analysis & Perspective article, attorney Albert M. Cohen discusses the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway v. U.S. with regard to arranger liability, and joint and several liability. The decision, Cohen says, will likely make it harder to prove arranger liability, and may make it easier for parties to obtain apportionment of liability, which would have a “major impact on superfund enforcement.”

Albert Cohen is a partner in Loeb & Loeb LLP's Real Estate Department and specializes in environmental law. He has over 25 years of experience handling complex environmental cases and transactions involving soil and groundwater contamination, hazardous waste, CEQA and NEPA, water law and other aspects of environmental law. He can be reached at 310.282.2228.

This article has been reproduced with permission from Toxics Law Reporter, 24 TXLR 711, 06/11/2009. Copyright 2009 by The Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.