Publications

In Cooper Industries, Inc. v. Aviall Services, Inc., (Cooper Industries), the United States Supreme Court ruled that a person who is liable or potentially liable under Section 107(a) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), (a potentially responsible party or PRP) may not sue other PRPs for contribution pursuant to CERCLA Section 113(f) in the absence of a pending or completed civil action against the plaintiff PRP under CERCLA Sections 106 or 107(a).4 The Cooper Industries decision raises, although declines to address, the question as to whether a PRP that has incurred response costs voluntarily, i.e., not under compulsion of a civil action under CERCLA Sections 106 or 107 (a volunteer PRP), may file suit under Section 107, even though Cooper Industries deprives it of a cause of action under Section 113.