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News

Court Affirms Judgment, Orders $3.1 Million Payment

[February 23, 2010]

A federal appeals court Dec. 29, 2009, affirmed a $3.1 million judgment in favor of the United States against Raytheon Aircraft Co. in a case stemming from trichloroethylene contamination at an airport in Herington, Kan. (Raytheon Aircraft Co. v. United States, 10th Cir., No. 08-3237, 12/29/09).

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit affirmed a trial court judgment under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, saying Raytheon had not established that the assessment of the response costs was in error.

The dispute involved trichloroethylene (TCE) contamination at the Tri-County Public Airport, which the U.S. Army had used from 1942 to 1945. In a May 2008 bench trial, the federal district court found no support for Raytheon's claims that the company was not the sole source of the seven-mile plume of TCE contamination (Raytheon Aircraft Co. v. United States, 556 F. Supp. 2d 1265, 67 ERC 1805 (D. Kan. 2008)).

Raytheon is a successor to Beech Aircraft Corp., which operated the airfield during the 1950s. The Army used TCE during World War II to remove grease from airplane parts. The United States and Raytheon agreed they were the only two potentially liable parties for the contamination, which was confirmed in the groundwater by the state of Kansas during the mid-1990s. After the Environmental Protection Agency was notified, it conducted an expanded site inspection and remedial investigation and concluded the TCE contamination was from Beech's use of vapor degreasers at the site.

Raytheon unsuccessfully argued it was not solely liable for the contamination at the site and $3.1 million in response costs. The Tenth Circuit explained that when the government seeks recovery of its costs, the burden of proof on the question lies with the defendant. The trial court concluded Raytheon had not established the assessment of such costs was in error and the appellate court affirmed the determination.


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Text of the decision is available at http://www.ck10.uscourts.gov/opinions/08/08-3237.pdf.


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