Polaroid Corp. v. Rollins Environmental Services
Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts
624 N.E.2d 959 (1993)
Polaroid and Occidental (P & O, plaintiffs) contracted with Rollins Environmental Services (defendant) for waste disposal, with Rollins agreeing to follow environmental regulations and indemnify P & O for liability arising from its performance; after hazardous spills at Rollins's storage "tank farm," the EPA held P & O jointly and severally liable as waste generators under CERCLA, which was enacted after the indemnification agreements were signed. Rollins refused to indemnify P & O, arguing (among other things) the pre-CERCLA agreement could not cover a law that did not yet exist; the trial court granted P & O summary judgment.
Whether a law imposing strict liability becomes part of an indemnification agreement if the law is enacted after the agreement is entered into.