The Third Circuit issued an important decision this month regarding the contribution protection afforded to parties who enter into approved settlement agreements with a state or the federal government under Section 113(f)(2) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).

On Sept. 8, 2020, the Circuit Court filed its opinion in New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection v. American Thermoplastics Corporation, a case that dealt with the remediation of a landfill superfund site in New Jersey. In 1978, the site was purchased by Carter Day Industries, and “ran through” its subsidiary, the Combe Fill Corporation, until the site’s closure in 1981. Combe Fill hired Compaction Systems Corporation of Connecticut, and Compaction Systems Corporation (collectively, Compaction) to conduct operations at and transport hazardous materials to the site.