Category Archives: sale of a usable product

Yes, Virginia, Selling a Building Known to Contain PCBs Can Constitute An Arrangement for Disposal

Some cases just make you wonder what people were thinking.  I’m not  sure even Donald Trump would have tried to get away with what Dico, Inc., tried to get away with.

In 1994, EPA issued an administrative order, requiring Dico to address PCBs in insulation in buildings it owned in Des Moines, Iowa.  Without informing EPA, Dico sold the buildings.  Dico did not inform the buyer of the buildings about either the presence of PCBs or the EPA order.… More

Determining An Intent To Dispose Under CERCLA Remains a Puzzlement

Determining when a person has “arranged” for the disposal of a hazardous substance has long been difficult.  The Supreme Court brought some clarity to the issue in Burlington Northern, when it said that:

While it is true that in some instances an entity’s knowledge that its product will be leaked, spilled, dumped, or otherwise discarded may provide evidence of the entity’s intent to dispose of its hazardous wastes,… More

Arranger Liability for Sale of a Used Product: Standard of Metaphysics Or An Unstated Rule?

In Consolidated Coal Company v. Georgia Power Company,the Fourth Circuit recently applied the same four part test used by trial court(and blogged about here) to hold that the sale of a used product containing PCBs would not give rise to arranger liabiity under Section 107(a)(3) of CERCLA.  The appeals court reaffirmed the basic proposition that selling a used product that contains hazarous substances which eventually will be disposed is not sufficient to establish arranger liability:

Anytime an entity sells a product that contains a hazardous substance,… More