Related Practices

Real Estate Litigation

Industries

Construction

Related People

Colin C. Deihl Christopher H. Dolan Delmar R. Ehrich Christin E. Garcia Bruce Jones Paula S. Moore Russell O. Stewart Todd P. Walker

Won Supreme Court Decision in Favor of Client TIC-The Industrial Company

U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of TIC-The Industrial Co., in declining plaintiff Robert Friedland's request to review whether the collateral source rule—a common-law tort principle that sometimes allows victims to seek compensation even when their damages have been repaid through insurance or other sources—applies to contribution claims under Section 113 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). A federal appeals court had held that while the rule may be appropriate in litigation between an innocent party and a wrongdoer—on the grounds that it is better to allow a windfall to go to an innocent party than to a wrongdoer—it does not apply in Superfund cases. The Supreme Court's denial of Robert Friedland's petition for certiorari leaves standing a federal appeals court decision that a potentially responsible party whose cleanup costs have already been completely covered by insurance or other settlement proceeds cannot pursue other liable parties for contribution under CERCLA. Our professionals represented TIC-The Industrial Co. in all phases of this litigation.