David Restaino was featured in the Law360 article, "NJ Enviro Decision Will Help Bankroll Site Cleanups." Full text can be found in the August 7, 2014, issue, but a synopsis is below.
The New Jersey Supreme Court recent decision to permit parties to launch contribution actions over contaminated sites without having to wait on state enforcement is expected to help fund state cleanup efforts. However, attorneys explain that a finding asserting the state must approve actual cleanup costs may be difficult to execute.
Attorneys assert that the high court's decision maintains the normal manner in which contribution cases are handled. Protecting the existing circumstances here was pivotal in itself.
David Restaino comments, "Otherwise you're making someone spend every last dime before they can sue for contribution, and there's a certain inefficiency in that and a certain unfairness in that. I think what happens sometimes is that principle gets muddled up with the theory that the NJDEP is the technical expert on cleanups."
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