Resolving Superfund Liability and Protecting PRP Interests: Settling and Preserving CERCLA Claims
PRP Intervention Trends and Developments; Best Practices for CERCLA Settlements
About the Course
Introduction
This CLE course will provide counsel advising parties in a contaminated site cleanup with guidance on both protecting the interests of settling potentially responsible parties (PRPs) and, on the other hand, protecting the contribution interests of non-settling PRPs.
Description
Settlements resolve most Superfund matters, including settlements with regulators and settlements among private parties. But not all settlements are created equal, provide the protection or release that parties seek, or preserve the contribution and cost recovery rights that releasors intend to retain.
The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Guam v. United States and recent appellate decisions such as Revitalizing Auto Communities Environmental Response Trust v. National Grid USA, Atlantic Richfield Co. v. NL Industries, and Georgia-Pacific Consumer Products LP v. NCR Corp. provide lessons and guidance for practitioners concerning the scope of CERCLA settlements, available contribution and cost recovery remedies, and the preservation and timing of claims.
This program will evaluate the risks and rewards of CERCLA settlements and how to craft them, or attack them, to best protect client interests.
Listen as our authoritative panel of environmental law attorneys examines recent CERCLA settlement and contribution developments and offers best practices for CERCLA settlements, including settlement incentives for PRPs and when a PRP should settle.
Presented By
Mr. Mandelbaum represents clients facing problems under the environmental laws. He regularly represents clients in lawsuits and also has helped clients achieve satisfactory outcomes through regulatory negotiation or private transactions. A Fellow of the American College of Environmental Lawyers, Mr. Mandelbaum teaches Superfund, and Oil and Gas Law in rotation at the Temple University Beasley School of Law as well as an environmental litigation course at Suffolk (Boston) Law School. He has been engaged in matters involving allocation of costs among responsible parties, especially under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). Mr. Mandelbaum has tried large cases and resolved others as lead counsel. He has written, spoken, and taught extensively on the subject.
Mr. Talbert is an accomplished trial attorney and environmental lawyer who focuses on environmental litigation, permitting, and risk management. He has significant experience in all major environmental statutes and has litigated cases across the country. Mr. Talbert has worked on over 70 contaminated sites nationally and has served as a mediator in environmental disputes, including the allocation of costs at Superfund Sites. Prior to joining the firm, he led the environmental group at a Chambers-ranked law firm and was a Trial Attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Environmental Enforcement Section. At the U.S. DOJ, Mr. Talbert led one of the largest Clean Water Act cases in U.S. history, the first Clean Air Act case under EPA’s pulp and paper initiative related to New Source Review, the largest Natural Resource Damages case under the Park Service Resource Protection Act, and numerous CERCLA and RCRA cases. He received numerous awards for his work, including EPA's Gold Medal for exceptional service. Mr. Talbert was named a 2025 "Lawyer of the Year" for Environmental Litigation and is a Band 1 ranked lawyer on Chambers USA.
-
This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
-
Date + Time
- event
Tuesday, October 6, 2026
- schedule
1:00 PM ET/ 10:00 AM PT
I. Administrative orders and agreements and consent decrees: settling with the government
II. Allocation agreements and cash-outs: private party settlements
III. Intervention and other challenges to settlements
IV. Recent CERCLA settlement, contribution, and limitations decisions
V. Best practices for protecting client interests
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- How can a settling PRP minimize the risk of future claims?
- What can a non-settling party do to mitigate the risk of disproportionate liability?
- Under what circumstances should a PRP seek to participate in a settlement?
- What strategies should PRPs employ to preserve contribution and cost recovery rights in settlements to which they are not a party?
- How can settlement terms affect the availability and timing of future CERCLA claims?
Related Courses
Resolving Superfund Liability and Protecting PRP Interests: Settling and Preserving CERCLA Claims
Tuesday, October 6, 2026
1:00 PM ET/ 10:00 AM PT
