Cost Recovery Actions in New York

Periconi, LLC • Minimizing the financial impact of environmental cleanup

When pollution or contamination is discovered on the premises of a commercial property, the current property owner is responsible for all aspects of performing a cleanup. Property owners must typically investigate all causes and sources of contamination, prepare environmental assessments and reports, and fully fund a cleanup effort. The city, state, or federal government will not volunteer to pay to repair environmental damage to property privately held by a business, corporation, or individual.

But often, investigations reveal that the pollution of a property occurred years, even decades in the past, and current owners of the contaminated land or buildings did nothing to cause it. If a previous property owner is responsible for causing all or part of the environmental contamination on your commercial land, and failed to disclose it as a matter of due diligence during the sale of the property, Periconi, LLC will work to hold these culpable parties (or their insurance companies liable). Contact the experienced lawyers of Periconi, LLC to discuss the possibility of bringing a cost recovery action or contribution action.

The goal of a Cost Recovery Action is to recoup full cleanup costs from the party responsible for the environmental mess, typically, a prior or adjoining property owner.

A Contribution Action makes each responsible party liable for a percentage of the cleanup costs, lessening the financial impact of the environmental cleanup effort.

Pre-existing environmental hazards that may be eligible for cost recovery actions include:

• A leaking underground storage tank
• Oil spills or gas leaks
• Improper hazardous waste disposal
• Improper wastewater disposal

If your corporation, small business, or real estate development firm faces a substantial cleanup effort to correct pollution levels on a property that was recently purchased, contact Periconi, LLC to discuss cost recovery actions.