New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection v. Ventron Corp.
New Jersey Supreme Court
468 A.2d 150 (1983)
Velsicol Chemical Corporation (defendant) operated a mercury-processing site along Berry's Creek, a tidal estuary of the Hackensack River in New Jersey, contaminating the creek with roughly 268 tons of toxic waste over fifty years. New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection (plaintiff) sued Velsicol, its subsidiaries, and others under the state's Spill Compensation and Control Act. The trial court held the Spill Act inapplicable because the contamination predated the statute, but held some defendants jointly liable and others severally liable under other theories. The appellate court reversed, holding the Spill Act applied retroactively and that the defendants were jointly and severally liable, and the defendants appealed further.
Whether a landowner is strictly liable for harm caused by toxic waste stored on its property, and whether such liability may be imposed retroactively under the state's Spill Act.