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Article: Court raises the ante for trustees in hazardous substances cases. (Arizona federal court) (Column)
- Article from:
- American Banker
- Article date:
- September 8, 1993
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1993 SourceMedia, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In a decision that sent shock waves throughout the banking industry, an Arizona federal court held in January that a trustee could be liable for contamination cleanup costs under the Superfund law.
The case, City of Phoenix v. Garbage Services Co., was the first to address the Superfund liability a testamentary trustee in a traditional trustee/beneficiary relationship.
The initial decision did not say whether the trustee could be held liable for damages exceeding the trust's assets. But much to the dismay of the banking community, the court in a very recent decision finally answered that question - in the affirmative.
The court held that a ...