NORTH CAROLINA LEGISLATIVE REACTION TO SUPREME COURT RULING

By TONI ELLINGTON

Following the Supreme Court’s ruling in CTS Corporation v. Waldburger, 134 S. Ct. 896 (2014) on June 9, 2014, that the North Carolina statute of repose prevented plaintiffs’ CERCLA  claims alleging injury and property damage from toxic chemicals, some North Carolina lawmakers are pushing to revise the statute.  The Republican-controlled General Assembly is considering new legislation that would all state residents to pursue lawsuits in certain cases, despite the statute of repose.  The North Carolina Senate is expected to consider the proposed bill right away.

The dispute in the case involved whether CTS was liable for property damage discovered near a chemical manufacturing facility it owned near Asheville, NC prior to 1987.  The plaintiffs did not discover the contamination until informed by the EPA in 2009, long after the state’s statute of repose had run.

For more information, contact Toni Ellington at 504-599-8500.