Federal Ct: Commercial property owner v. neighboring developer (former drycleaners)
N/AOUTCOME: Settlement after favorable court ruling
My client bought property next to a former dry cleaners. The defendant (a developer) bought the neighboring property, knowing it was contaminated, although the dry cleaners stopped operating many years ... ago. The developer cleaned up dry cleaning solvents in soil when it replaced the old building with a new structure. Illinois EPA approved the clean-up and issued a No Further Remediation (NFR) Letter. My client found high levels of dry cleaning solvents on his property and asked the developer to investigate, but the developer claimed it had no responsibility. Our only choice was to sue the developer, who tried to dismiss our case, relying on the NFR Letter from the state. In a case of first impression in Illinois, the Federal Court ruled that the NFR Letter did not protect the developer from liability under our federal or state law claims, even though that developer did not initially cause the contamination. As a result of the court's ruling, both parties have settled the case, with the developer agreeing to clean up my client's property under the same Illinois EPA clean-up program.
