The Seventh Circuit Still Wrong: Bernstein v. Bankert

Late last year I blogged on the dubious decision by the Seventh Circuit in Bernstein v. Blankert which held that a settling CERCLA party did not resolve its liability to the government until it had performed all of its obligations under the Consent Decree.  While that decision enabled the settling party to get around a statute of limitations problem in bringing a claim against the real polluting party, that decision also meant that settling parties had no protection from contribution claims or new suits by the government until all the obligations under the Consent Decree had been performed — which in many instances could be decades.   After that decision issued, the losing party in the appeal requested a panel rehearing, which was joined by the US EPA as amicus.