Opinion ID: 2816330
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: introduction

Text: The issues before us hinge on a question of statutory interpretation: Under CERCLA, may a settlement agreement between private parties to a CERCLA § 107 cost-recovery lawsuit create a cause of action for contribution under CERCLA § 113(f)(1) that is excepted from the three-year statute of limitations in CERCLA § 113(g)(3)? As we have previously noted, CERCLA is a complex statute with a “‘maze-’like structure and ‘baffling language.’” California ex rel. Cal. Dep’t of Toxic Substances Control v. Neville Chem. Co., 358 F.3d 661, 663 (9th Cir. 2004) (quoting Carson Harbor Vill., 270 F.3d at 880, 883). While the statutory language may be baffling and the structure mazelike, the statute clearly indicates that any contribution claim for particular remedial costs is subject to a three-year statute of limitations once liability for a potentially responsible party (“PRP”) becomes recognized through a judicially approved settlement. 42 U.S.C. § 9613(g)(3)(B). At oral argument in this case, ASARCO admitted that it could have filed a contribution claim against CNA following the entry of the Wickland Agreement. At issue in this appeal is (1) whether or not a CERCLA contribution claim, once it has accrued, may be excepted from the statute of limitations based on the type of settlement that underlies the claim, and (2) if the claim is subject to the statute of limitations and the time to file has expired, whether the claim may be revived by a subsequent event. We hold that a judicially approved ASARCO V. CELANESE CHEMICAL CO. 9 settlement agreement between private parties to a CERCLA cost-recovery suit starts the clock on the three-year statute of limitations in CERCLA § 113(g)(3)(B), and that a later bankruptcy settlement that fixes the costs of such a costrecovery settlement agreement does not revive a contribution claim that has otherwise expired. Our holding that a later bankruptcy settlement with the government cannot revive an otherwise expired contribution claim ensures that a party does not receive a benefit that it had not paid for in the bankruptcy settlement.