Ala. Federal Court: Plaintiffs in Chemical Exposure Suits Can Bring Private-Citizen CERCLA Claim

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. –– An Alabama court has rejected defense opposition to plaintiff attempts to assert their chemical exposure claims under CERCLA, finding that the companies had failed to carry their initial burden of affirmatively showing that the CERCLA commencement date cannot apply in these cases.

In its Jan. 23 ruling, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama opined that the plaintiffs had provided evidence that the EPA has expended money on response costs, thus satisfying the requirements necessary to establish the basis for a CERCLA claim.

While finding that the defendants had failed to show that the …