CTS Corp. v. Waldburger

573 U.S. 1 (2014)

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CTS Corp. v. Waldburger

United States Supreme Court
573 U.S. 1 (2014)

  • Written by Tammy Boggs, JD

Facts

CTS Corp. (defendant) operated an electronics plant in North Carolina between 1959 and 1985. As part of the electronics-manufacturing process, CTS stored hazardous substances on the property. In 1987, CTS sold the property. In 2011, the current property owner and adjacent landowners (collectively, the owners) (plaintiffs) sued CTS in North Carolina district court alleging a state-law nuisance action that sought compensation for damages. The owners claimed that they only learned in 2009 from the Environmental Protection Agency that their well water had been contaminated by CTS many years earlier. North Carolina’s applicable statute of repose was 10 years. Citing the statute, CTS filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that its last act relating to the property was in 1987, 24 years before the suit’s filing. The district court granted CTS’s motion to dismiss. On appeal, the Fourth Circuit reversed, ruling that the statute of repose was preempted by § 9658 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), which imposes a discovery rule. If North Carolina’s statute of repose was preempted, the owners’ claim could proceed against CTS. The Supreme Court agreed to review the matter.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Kennedy, J.)

Concurrence (Scalia, J.)

Dissent (Ginsburg, J.)

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