Opinion ID: 159591
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Previous Settlement

Text: 27 Koch argues the district court erred by not taking into consideration the fact of the Sun/Tosco settlement in connection with Koch's liability to Tosco. According to Koch, the district court was obligated to conduct a fairness hearing on the amount of that settlement so that Koch, as a non-settling defendant, could be credited with the amount of the settlement. Otherwise, Koch claims Tosco will realize a windfall by recovering more than it is entitled to in contribution (i.e., more than the investigation and remediation costs Tosco has or will incur). 28 Koch's argument is factually flawed and without legal support. The record makes clear the district court allocated liability for past and future response costs proportionately among the responsible parties expressly as to Koch and implicitly as to Sun and Tosco thus avoiding making Koch responsible for more than its fair share. Sun opted to settle its liability for a fixed amount in order to avoid the uncertainty of unknown future costs. Koch chose not to settle for a fixed amount. We believe where, as here, a responsible party chooses to go to trial and future response costs are likely to be incurred, but the exact amount remains unknown, a judgment on proportional liability is an appropriate remedy. See Kelley v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 17 F.3d 836, 844-45 (6th Cir. 1994) (a declaration of liability is appropriate even if future costs are somewhat speculative). In other words, the district court was not obligated to fix an amount of Koch's liability based on the Sun/Tosco settlement. As noted above, the district court acted well within its discretion by allocating Koch's proportionate share of liability based on Koch's relative duration of Refinery ownership and control a factor unique to Koch and unaffected by a settlement between other responsible parties. Moreover, the majority of courts deciding contribution suits between private parties under 42 U.S.C. 9613(f)(1) (as contrasted from suits or settlements with the government under 42 U.S.C. 9613(f)(2)), have applied the Uniform Comparative Fault Act to reduce a nonsettling party's liability by the amount of the settling parties' liability, not the settlement amount. Lynnette Boomgaarden & Charles Breer, Surveying the Superfund Settlement Dilemma, 27 Land & Water L.Rev. 84, 109-12 & note 189 (1992). Koch cites no persuasive legal authority to the contrary, no authority for its proposition the district court was obligated to conduct a fairness hearing on the terms of the Sun/Tosco settlement, 8 and no evidence Tosco will enjoy a windfall. Koch's assertion Tosco may receive double recovery is pure speculation. Consequently, we will not overturn the district court's judgment on this ground.