Farm Bureau Mutual Insurance v. Porter & Heckman, Inc.

This is a suit under Michigan’s Environmental Response Act (mera) (Act 307), MCL 299.601 et seq.\ MSA 13.32(1) et seq., 1 which arose after fuel oil stored in an above-ground tank connected to a residential furnace leaked, resulting in groundwater and soil contamination. The issue is whether defendant Porter & Heckman, Inc., a plumbing and heating repair business that serviced the furnace, was an “operator” of a facility 2 or an “arrange[r] for disposal” 3 of a hazardous substance under the mera, such that it may be held liable for contribution 4 toward response costs incurred to remediate…