Innocent Landowner Defense . Contiguous Landowner Defense - If a landowner's property happens to abut a Brownfield site and they can prove by a preponderance of the evidence that they were not aware of any release of hazardous material, and did not consent to its release, then they qualify for an exemption. Innocent Landowner Defense is a legal defense that can be asserted to restrict a property owner’s liability for cleaning up contaminati on and is intended to protect those who own property aft er an impact has occurred. Other jurisdictions interpret the phrase disjunctively by allowing the owner to prove either lack of knowledge or lack of consent to defeat a forfeiture action. . AAI provides innocent landowner defense - new owner must have completed AAI on or before the date of purchase. The new ASTM E1527-05 can be used to abide by the provisions of the AAI approved Standard. There are many jurisdictions that refuse to take any position, leaving the determination of the conjunctive or disjunctive question to the lower courts. L. 155, 156 (1993); Owen T. Smith, The Expansive Scope of Liable Parties under CERCLA 1999] DEFENSE OF AN INNOCENT LANDOWNER 245 state equivalents. They were not responsible for any … In agreement with the development of the EPA’s AAI Standard, the ASTM E1527 was amended to be consistent and compliant with the final rule. EPA has updated its standard guidance on CERCLA’s landowner defenses for the first time since 2003. Since 1996, Sierra Piedmont has provided expert environmental consulting, nationwide, for your due diligence, compliance and investigation/remediation needs. OSTI.GOV Journal Article: CERCLA's innocent landowner defense -- Consultants beware Title: CERCLA's innocent landowner defense -- Consultants beware Full Record She claimed the innocent owner defense, but the court ruled that it applied to her as well even if it was later nullified by the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act of 2000. The innocent landowner provision provided a defense for those persons who could demonstrate that they had no reason to know, prior to purchasing a property, that any hazardous substance was released or disposed of at the property. Innocent landowner (i.e., purchaser) defense—innocent purchaser did not know and had no reason to know of contamination when purchasing the site and has complied with other common elements. [1], United States v. Liberty Avenue[citation needed] is a case in which the innocent owner defense was used. Part II provides an overview of CER-CLA. This section, which is read in conjunction with the third-party defense in 42 U.S.C. 15. In order to achieve the status of an “innocent landowner”, the Comprehensive 1. LEXIS 5127, addressed the application of CERCLA’s innocent landowner defense against a somewhat intricate property ownership and due diligence backdrop. The recent decision in California Department of Toxic Substances v Westside Delivery, LLC, 2018 WL 1973715 (9 th Cir., April 27, 2018) provides an interesting analysis of the “contractual relationship” element of the “so-called” innocent landowner defense. rely on this defense"4 and previous owners who transfer owner-. . Innocent Landowners. For instance, acquisitions through bankruptcy, abandonment, or delinquent taxes as per CERCLA §101(20)(D). § 983(d)) and is part of the Code that defines forfeiture laws and more specifically the general rules for civil forfeiture proceedings. The innocent landowner defense appears to be subject to interpretation on a case-by-case-basis in the judicial system. A defense created by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA). [1][2][3] [4], "The Innocent Owner Defense to Real Property Forfeiture Under the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984", "Casualties of War: Drugs, Civil Forfeiture and the Plight of the Innocent Owner", "U.S. v. PREMISES KNOWN AS 171-02 LIBERTY AVE", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Innocent_owner_defense&oldid=1009763660, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2021, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 2 March 2021, at 05:11. This was illustrated by a recent innocent landowner case in California -- Coppola v. Smith. 13. J. E NVTL. Part I explores the circumstances that led to the enactment of CERCLA. Headquarters: Sierra Piedmont 105 Weatherstone Drive, Suite 650 Woodstock (Atlanta), GA 30188, Phone: (770) 792-6200 Fax: (770) 792-6005, Copyright © 2020 All Rights Reserved. CERCLA’s Innocent Landowner Defense: Oasis or Mirage?, 18 C OLUM. The innocent landowner defense was enacted in 1986 and appears in 42 U.S.C. The Superfund liability protections created by Congress are for parties who qualify as bona fide prospective purchasers (BFPPs), contiguous property owners (CPOs), or innocent landowners (ILOs or third parties). It states that the "claimant shall have the burden of proving that the claimant is an innocent owner by a preponderance of the evidence . It is defined in section 983(d) of title 18 of the United States Code (18 U.S.C. A purchaser of a contaminated property to assert the BFPP defense to a claim for if! The effect of the contamination ) the defense on real estate transactions the... Or innocent landowner defense..... 418 2 of an innocent landowner defense '' 4 and previous who. Owner is liable under the innocent landowner defense under CERCLA 03 February 2015 innocent landowner defense. 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