The 'innocent landowner' defense under CERCLA requires:
Correct Answer
B) All appropriate inquiry before acquisition
The defense turns on what the buyer did before closing: all appropriate inquiries into previous ownership and use, which in practice means a Phase I assessment, leaving no reason to know of contamination. See 42 U.S.C. § 9601(35)(B). Other choices: proof that the owner never visited the property is the opposite of inquiry and would help nobody; a Phase III assessment is remediation work, which is what happens after contamination is found rather than before buying; and insurance coverage for environmental damage may pay for the cleanup but is no answer to liability under the statute.
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Related Topics & Key Terms
Related Topics:
Key Terms:
Related Concepts
An easement is a legal right to use another person's land for a specific purpose without owning it. It is a nonpossessory interest in real property that typically runs with the land.
An easement by necessity is created by court order when a property is landlocked and has no access to a public road. It arises from the necessity of accessing the property, not from long-term use.
An easement by prescription is acquired through continuous, open, notorious, hostile, and uninterrupted use of another's land for a statutory period. It is similar to adverse possession but grants use rights, not ownership.
More Land Use Controls Regulations Questions
A buyer purchases a home in a subdivision whose CC&Rs, recorded in 1975, limit each lot to single-family residential use. The buyer begins operating an auto body repair business out of the garage, with customer vehicles parked on the lot and a spray booth in the driveway. The CC&Rs say nothing about home-based businesses. Can the HOA stop the business?
Permission to depart from a requirement of the zoning ordinance for a single parcel is obtained through a:
Zoning ordinance compliance is monitored through:
The main difference between private and public land controls is:
A government plan guiding long-term physical development is:
- → A developer plans to build a new condominium complex. The developer must create and record certain governing documents before selling any units. What document is the foundation of the condominium's governance structure?
- → A homeowner in an HOA community wants to install solar panels on her roof. The CC&Rs do not address solar panels. The HOA's architectural review board denies the request, citing aesthetic concerns. In many jurisdictions, how do solar access laws affect this dispute?
- → In a planned community, what is the primary role of the homeowners' association (HOA)?
- → What does the term 'covenants, conditions, and restrictions' (CC&Rs) refer to in real estate?
- → When a zoning ordinance and a deed restriction both apply to the same property but impose different standards, which standard controls?
- → What does it mean when a deed restriction is said to 'run with the land'?
- → A real estate agent is explaining deed restrictions to a buyer. All of the following are common types of deed restrictions found in residential subdivisions EXCEPT.
- → A developer creates a 200-lot subdivision and records a declaration of CC&Rs before selling any lots. The CC&Rs include architectural review requirements, landscaping standards, and HOA membership obligations. When a buyer purchases Lot 45, how is the buyer bound by the CC&Rs?
- → A buyer's agent is reviewing the CC&Rs for a subdivision. All of the following provisions are typically found in CC&Rs EXCEPT.
- → A subdivision's CC&Rs require the approval of 75 percent of the lot owners to amend any restriction. Only 60 percent of the owners vote to remove a restriction that limits fence height to six feet. Is the restriction removed?
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