We don't need as much environment as we used to anyway
High court restricts pollution lawsuits
Says firms can't sue unless US orders cleanups
By Gina Holland, Associated Press | December 14, 2004
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court yesterday put restrictions on companies that want to voluntarily clean up their polluted land and sue former owners to share the costs.
The court ruled, 7 to 2, against a company that in 1981 bought land in Texas that had been used for aircraft engine maintenance businesses and then went to court to recover some of the $5 million it spent cleaning up pollution there.
The justices said the company improperly tried to use the Superfund law to sue because the government had not demanded that the cleanup be done.
The court, however, left open the possibility that another part of the Superfund law could permit such lawsuits.
''There's no question this ruling will significantly diminish the incentive people have to do voluntary cleanup," said Richard Lazarus, a Georgetown University law school professor and environmental lawyer.
