California Health and Safety Code 79820 – (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, if an …
(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, if an environmental assessment of property discovers no evidence of the presence or likely presence of a release or a threat of a release of a hazardous substance, and a hazardous substance release is subsequently discovered on, to, or from that property, the owner of that property is entitled to a rebuttable presumption, affecting the burden of producing evidence, that the owner is not a liable person or responsible party for purposes of this part. An owner is entitled to this presumption whether the action is brought by the state or by a private party seeking contribution or indemnification.
(b) In an action brought against an owner of property to recover costs or expenditures incurred from the state account pursuant to this part in response to a hazardous substance release, the presumption may be rebutted if it is established by a preponderance of the evidence that the facts upon which the department made the certification pursuant to subdivision (a), (b), (c), or (d) of Section 79825 are true.
Terms Used In California Health and Safety Code 79820
- department: means State Department of Health Services. See California Health and Safety Code 20
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. Source: FDIC
- Person: means any person, firm, association, organization, partnership, business trust, corporation, limited liability company, or company. See California Health and Safety Code 19
- State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Health and Safety Code 23
(Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 257, Sec. 2. (AB 2293) Effective January 1, 2023. Operative January 1, 2024, pursuant to Sec. 4 of Stats. 2022, Ch. 257.)