Understanding CERCLA Liability: What Property Owners Need To Know Before Buying A Brownfield

When considering the purchase of an industrial or commercial property, potential purchasers should bear in mind that, under federal and California environmental law, they can inherit environmental liability for pre-existing contamination.

The Liability Trap: Strict, Retroactive, and Joint and Several

The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA” or “Superfund”) imposes strict, retroactive, and joint and several liability. Strict means it does not matter whether the property owner was careful or negligent with regard to environmental matters. Retroactive means it reaches back to pollution that occurred decades before acquisition of the property. And joint and several means the government or private parties such as neighboring property owners and future purchasers can pursue the property owner for the entire cost of a cleanup, even if others contributed to the contamination and the owner contributed to none of it. A buyer who takes title to a