Shell Oil Company v. United States et al.

Questions presented

SCOTUS records, cert granted 1 Oct 2008

1. Whether liability for “arranging” for disposal of hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA”), 42 U.S.C. § 9607(a)(3), may be imposed upon a manufacturer who merely sells and ships, by common carrier, a commercially useful product, transferring ownership and control to a purchaser who then causes contamination involving that product.
2. Whether joint and several liability may be imposed upon several potentially responsible parties under CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. § 9607(a), even where a district court finds an objectively reasonable basis for divisibility that would suffice at common law.

Opinion summary

Etalia.ai summary of the majority opinion

The case involved Shell Oil Company and other oil companies who were sued by the United States for environmental cleanup costs under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The government sought to recover expenses incurred in cleaning up hazardous waste at a site where aviation fuel was produced during World War II. The central issue was whether Shell could be held liable as an 'arranger' of disposal or treatment of hazardous substances. The Supreme Court ruled that mere knowledge of spills occurring during delivery did not constitute sufficient intent to dispose under CERCLA's arranger liability provision. Therefore, Shell was not liable for cleanup costs because it did not intend to dispose of a hazardous substance when selling its product.