Is a Landlord responsible to an abutting landowner for
environmental contamination caused by a Tenant?
In an era when environmental contamination is causing increasing
concern, the need to settle a landlord's responsibility for
contamination caused by its tenant to neighboring lands becomes
more and more apparent. In Sorbam Investments Ltd. v.
Litwack, the plaintiff landowner commenced an action
for damages against an abutting landowner for the contamination of
its land. It alleged that a former commercial tenant on the
abutting lands operated a dry-cleaning business, which was the
source of the contamination of the plaintiff 's lands, and that
as a result, the defendant was liable (1) in nuisance, (2) in
negligence, or (3) pursuant to the Environmental Protection
Act ("EPA"). The defendant brought a successful
motion for summary judgment to dismiss the action.
