[MUSIC]
Hey everybody, in this session we
introduce ourself to a statute that governs
the clean up of site contaminated with hazardous substances in the United States.
It's known as superfund statute, or CERCLA.
We introduced ourselves to some of the main terms in
the statute and then we looked very quickly at a case.
Which is New York versus Shore Realty, in which a company, the Shore Realty Company,
purchased land that had already been contaminated with hazardous substances.
And the question was whether or not this company, Shore Realty, was itself liable.
For contamination that it did not put on the land,
but is nonetheless there, and Shore Realty is its current owner.
The court held yes under the statute, current owners
are strictly liable for hazardous substances found on land
they own.
We'll talk more about this statute in this session.