Law Commons^™

Attorney Fees As Superfund Response Costs, K.K. Duvivier, Carolyn L. Buchholz

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Although other areas of natural resources law have been hit by hard times, the environ- mental area is burgeoning. The intricacies of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Com- pensation and Liability Act (CERCLA or Super- fund), as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA), ensure attorney participation. Further- more, much of the fuel that drives CERCIA lit- igation is the presumption by many clients that their attorney fees are costs that can be re- covered as response costs under section 107 of CERCLA. 42 U.S.C. S 9607 (1983). Such an assumption may be a serious and costly …