Montana Code 75-10-718. Liability of remedial action contractor
75-10-718. Liability of remedial action contractor. (1) A person who is a remedial action contractor with respect to a release or threatened release of a hazardous or deleterious substance is not liable under this part to any person for injuries, costs, damages, expenses, or other liability that results from the release or threatened release, including but not limited to claims for indemnification or contribution and claims by third parties for death, personal injury, illness, loss or damage to property, or economic loss.
Terms Used In Montana Code 75-10-718
- Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Hazardous or deleterious substance: means a substance that because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics may pose an imminent and substantial threat to public health, safety, or welfare or the environment and is:
(a)a substance that is defined as a hazardous substance by section 101(14) of the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), 42 U. See Montana Code 75-10-701
- 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 an individual, trust, firm, joint-stock company, joint venture, consortium, commercial entity, partnership, association, corporation, commission, state or state agency, political subdivision of the state, interstate body, or the federal government, including a federal agency. See Montana Code 75-10-701
- Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
- Property: means real and personal property. See Montana Code 1-1-205
- Release: means any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping, or disposing of a hazardous or deleterious substance directly into the environment (including the abandonment or discarding of barrels, containers, and other closed receptacles containing any hazardous or deleterious substance), but excludes releases confined to the indoor workplace environment, the use of pesticides as defined in 80-8-102 when they are applied in accordance with approved federal and state labels, and the use of commercial fertilizers, as defined in 80-10-101, when applied as part of accepted agricultural practice. See Montana Code 75-10-701
- Remedial action: includes all notification, investigation, administration, monitoring, cleanup, restoration, mitigation, abatement, removal, replacement, acquisition, enforcement, legal action, health studies, feasibility studies, and other actions necessary or appropriate to respond to a release or threatened release. See Montana Code 75-10-701
- Remedial action contractor: means :
(a)any person who enters into and is carrying out a remedial action contract; or
(b)any person who is retained or hired by a person described in subsection (22)(a) to provide services relating to a remedial action. See Montana Code 75-10-701
- Remedial action costs: means reasonable costs that are attributable to or associated with a remedial action at a facility, including but not limited to the costs of administration, investigation, legal or enforcement activities, contracts, feasibility studies, or health studies. See Montana Code 75-10-701
- State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
(2)Immunity from liability, pursuant to subsection (1), does not apply in the case of a release that is caused by conduct of the remedial action contractor that is negligent or grossly negligent or that constitutes intentional misconduct.
(3)This section does not affect the liability of a person under a warranty under federal, state, or common law or the liability to an employee of an employer who is a remedial action contractor under any provision of law, including any provision of a law relating to workers’ compensation.
(4)A state agency or state employee or an employee of a political subdivision who provides services relating to remedial action while acting within the scope of the entity’s or individual’s authority as a governmental agency or employee has the same exemption from liability as is provided to the remedial action contractor under this section.
(5)The defense provided by 75-10-715(5)(c) is not available to a person liable under 75-10-715(1) with respect to remedial action costs or damages caused by an act or omission of a remedial action contractor.
(6)Except as provided in subsections (4) and (5), this section does not affect the liability under this part of a person other than a remedial action contractor.
(7)This section does not affect the plaintiff‘s burden of establishing liability under this part.
(8)This section does not minimize the liability, lessen the standard of liability, or otherwise shield from liability a potentially liable person under 75-10-715 or section 107 of CERCLA for costs or damages incurred as a result of a release or threatened release of a hazardous or deleterious substance.