As a business owner, it's crucial to work with a commercial waste disposal company to manage the waste your business generates. The company you work with matters. If you choose an unreliable one, you may not be protecting the environment as you believe. And this can...
Environmental Contamination & General Liability In New York
Are you viewing environmental regulations wrong?
Many business owners resent the restrictions that environmental regulations place on them. They complain that these regulations make running a business more complicated and eat into their profits. Even if you are not convinced about the health benefits and long-term...
What should NY gas stations know about underground tank corrosion
Running a gas station in New York comes with a host of responsibilities, including the upkeep of underground storage tanks. Properly maintaining these tanks isn't just good practice. It's also a legal requirement. Failures in this area could lead to serious legal...
What is the Oil Spill Fund?
The environmental damage that can be caused by an oil spill can be devastating, depending on the amount of oil involved and the time taken to clean it up. If it enters the water supply or contaminates soil this can cause serious health risks for residents of New...
Second Circuit: Late Notice To Insurer Bars Coverage For Environmental Claims
How important is it that timely notice of an environmental claim be given to your insurance carrier? And just what is "timely"?A federal appeals court in New York recently answered, "it's very important," and "timely" means as soon as practicable (but more than...
In Oil Spill Case, Common Law Negligence Claim Against Insurer Not Time-Barred Despite Policy
Sometimes simple common law principles are the best way to litigate against insurance companies. Specifically, if the insurance policy calls for a two-year limitations period to sue, make sure your attorney alleges common law negligence against the insurance carrier...
City Council Members Seek to Redefine “Reside” in Local Lead Paint Law
New York City's lead-based paint law (Local Law 1 [1982]) requires landlords to remove lead-based paint in any apartment unit in which a child under 6 years of age resides. The issue in Yaniveth R. v. LTD Realty Co. was whether a child "resides" in an apartment...
Tonawanda Coke Corporation Enters into a $12 Million Settlement with DEC and EPA for Alleged Violations of State and Federal Environmental Law
The U.S. Federal Government and the State of New York jointly announced on May 11, 2015 a $12 million settlement with Tonawanda Coke Corporation for a litany of alleged environmental violations at TCC's western New York coke manufacturing facility.The settlement comes...
Can an Oral Contract Ever be an Enforceable Promise to Fund an Environmental Remediation?
When someone says the word "contract," what comes to mind? For most, it would probably be a signed piece of paper that sets out certain legally enforceable promises made between two parties. But oral contracts can exist, too, and an oral contract can be just as...
County Water Authority has Standing to Sue for Groundwater Contamination, but Timeliness is Governed by New York’s Three Year Statute of Limitations
Fixed contaminant standards need not be reached, much less exceeded, in order to cause an injury that courts can recognize. An intermediate appeals court in New York has ruled that the Suffolk County Water Authority may sue chemical companies for groundwater...
