Arrow Gear Co. v. Downers Grove Sanitary Dist., 09-1509

Suits under CERCLA against other polluters not barred by res judicata

Arrow Gear Co. v. Downers Grove Sanitary Dist., 09-1509, concerned plaintiffs' suits under section 113(b) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), 42 U.S.C. section 9613(b), seeking to shift some of the costs to other polluters that plaintiffs had incurred as a result of having been found liable for groundwater contamination in a class action suit. 

In reversing the district court's dismissal of the suits as barred by res judicata, the court held that the defendants have no defense of res judicata to the present suits because there is no doubt that the settlements confine release to claims by defendants against one another concerning the allocation of the $16 million.

Related Link:

• Read the Seventh Circuit's Full Decision in Arrow Gear Co. v. Downers Grove Sanitary Dist., 09-1509