In the ongoing saga of what is known as the “Ashley II Litigation,” the United States District Court of South Carolina recently set aside several years of distributions to the shareholders of a dissolved, closely-held family corporation because the payments were intended to avoid liability for environmental contamination of property the company had not owned in 40 years. PCS Nitrogen, Inc. v. Ross Development Corp., 2015 BL 36539, D.S.C., No. 09-cv-03171, 2/12/15. This latest decision follows a prior case where PCS Nitrogen, Inc.
Asarco LLC v. Goodwin, 756 F.3d 191 (2nd Cir. 2014) –
A reorganized company (Asarco) sought contribution for payment of environmental claims from beneficiaries of trusts created under John D. Rockefeller’s will. The district court dismissed the claims, and Asarco appealed to the 2d Circuit.
In two recent decisions, ASARCO LLC v. Goodwin, 756 F.3d 191 (2d Cir. 2014) and ASARCO LLC v. Union Pacific Railroad Co., 755 F.3d 1183 (10th Cir. 2014), the Second Circuit and the Tenth Circuit each held that a reorganized bankruptcy debtor's direct contribution claims against other potentially responsible parties under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), 42 U.S.C.
In re Solitron Devices, Inc., 510 B.R. 890 (Bankr. S.D. Fla. 2014) –
A Chapter 11 debtor moved to reopen its bankruptcy case more than 15 years after it was closed in order to enforce the plan confirmation order to prevent claims by a state environmental agency and other potentially responsible parties for clean-up costs at a landfill.
On July 23, in ASARCO LLC v. Union Pacific Railroad Company, et al. No. 13-1435 (10th Cir.), the Tenth Circuit rejected the notion that settlement requirements are different in the bankruptcy context. Section 113 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), 42 U.S.C.
After five years of litigation, on 3 April 2014, the US Department of Justice entered into a settlement agreement with Kerr-McGee Corporation and its parent company, Anadarko Petroleum (“Kerr-McGee”). This agreement requires Kerr-McGee to pay $5.15 billion in order to compensate for its environmental and tort liabilities of the past 85 years.
This agreement came after the 12 December 2013 judgment of the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York in Tronox Inc., et al., v. Kerr-McGee Corp., et al. (In re Tronox Inc.), 503 B.R. 239 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2013).
Earlier today, April 3, 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice announced its largest ever environmental enforcement recovery case involving a $5.15 billion settlement, $4.4 billion of which will go to environmental cleanup and claims.
Energy production in the United States is at an all-time high. In 2013, an average of 7.5 million barrels of oil were pumped every day, which bested the previous production record (2012) by one million barrels. Domestic oil production has increased every year from 2011 to 2013. By comparison, between 1971 and 2011, oil production in the United States decreased 29 of the 40 years. Regardless of whether this level of domestic production can be sustained for the long term, elevated domestic oil production is a reality for the near future.
11/13/13: “Goal for CFPB chief: Calming conflict on car loans”