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Powerful Defenses and Exclusions to CERCLA Natural Resource Damages Claims

8/26/2015 Articles

By Mathew Swain and Deborah Tellier

Third in a series, this article provides an analysis of four key defenses associated with natural resource damages suits under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act: the ‘‘wholly before’’ 1980 defense; the statute of limitations; lack of standing for trustees to recover for injuries to private resources caused by releases of hazardous substances and, conversely, for private parties to recover for injuries to natural resources; and the failure of a trustee to provide notice of intent to sue.

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Related articles:

CERCLA’s Novel and Untested Defenses: Acts of God, Acts of War, Acts of Third Parties and Cultural Resource Damages

CERCLA’s Defenses and Exemptions Based on Interactions With Other Federal Environmental Laws

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