Leading Detroit Area Law Firm Obtains Dismissal in Environmental Contamination Case
DETROIT, May 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Foley, Baron & Metzger, PLLC, a leading Detroit area law firm, recently obtained a full dismissal of claims against its client, a product manufacturer, in a case involving environmental contamination.
Hinds Investments LP, the plaintiff, claimed that FBM's client, Hoyt Corp., a Massachusetts-based dry-cleaning equipment manufacturer, was responsible for a chemical contamination on Hinds' property and was seeking damages for environmental remediation costs.
FBM attorneys Richard S. Baron, Brian H. Phinney and Marc P. Lawrence argued in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California that, while a tenant can be liable for causing contamination, a product manufacturer that does not have control over how or where a tenant uses its product cannot be held responsible.
The court stated that although Hoyt's equipment is designed to recover perchloroethylene, a hazardous substance, for reuse, Hoyt did not have any involvement installing the equipment, inspecting the disposal of the tenant's waste products, or control over the tenant's operations. Therefore, Hoyt could not be held liable under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) or the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). Also, the case did not meet the pleading standards set by the United States Supreme Court in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly and Ashcroft v. Iqbal.
Hoyt's counsel, Richard Baron of Foley, Baron & Metzger, PLLC, said that the company was pleased with presiding Judge Lawrence J. O'Neill's decision, especially because it affirmed the reasoning that "it really isn't appropriate to make a manufacturer of a product liable under CERCLA."
FBM Law Firm is headquartered in the Detroit / Ann Arbor area and is a broad-service law firm providing environmental law services including: environmental litigation, environmental site assessments and compliance audits, Clean Water Act, mold issues, CERCLA, RCRA and NREPA issues.
For more information on environmental law visit http://www.fbmlaw.com/p_environmental.htm
To review the Court's Order pertaining to this environmental law case, please visit our newsroom.
Contact: |
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Richard Baron |
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Foley, Baron & Metzger, PLLC |
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38777 Six Mile Road, Suite 300 |
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Livonia, MI 48152 |
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P: 734.742.1855 |
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SOURCE Foley, Baron & Metzger, PLLC
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