NYCTL 1996-1 Trust v. EM-ESS Petroleum Corp.

*305Stern purchased an abandoned gas station at a foreclosure sale on June 8, 1999. He subsequently learned that the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) had designated the property an “oil spill site” and that, although DEC had expended approximately $1.5 million in cleanup costs, substantial cleanup remained to be completed. Stern’s title insurance company refused to insure the property until it was free of any current or future liens or obligations associated with the cleanup. The Referee who conducted the auction offered to return Stern’s deposit, because the oil…