New CERCLA Settlement Obstacles

A decision handed down by the Third Circuit on April 12, 2010 will have a broad-reaching effect on potentially responsible parties (PRPs) who resolve their Superfund liability to the United States or a state and later seek to recover some of their costs from other PRPs. See Agere Systems, Inc., et al. v. Advanced Environmental Technology Corporation, et al., ___ F.3d ___, No. 09-1814 (3rd Cir. April 12, 2010), available at www.ca3.uscourts.gov/opinarch/091814p.pdf. The decision raises two key warning flags for all PRPs who settle with the United States or a state pursuant to Sections 106 or 107(a) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).