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Concept
Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad Co. v. American Cyanamid Co.
Summary
Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad Co. v. American Cyanamid Co., 916 F.2d 1174 (7th Cir. 1990), is a decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit authored by Judge Richard Posner. The case has subsequently become a staple of first year Torts courses taught in American law schools, where the case is used to address the question of when it is better to use negligence liability or strict liability.
American Cyanamid was a manufacturer that produced chemicals, including acrylonitrile, which is used in making acrylic fibers, plastics, dyes, pharmaceutical chemicals, and other products. In January 1979, American Cyanamid wanted to ship acrylonitrile from its plant in Louisiana to its plant in New Jersey. It therefore leased a tank car from the North American Car Corporation, filled it with 20,000 gallons of liquid acrylonitrile, and the Missouri Pacific Railroad then picked up the car from the Louisiana plant. Missouri Pacific Railroad delivered the car to the Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad, a Chicago-area switching railroad, who were to switch the car to Conrail for final delivery to the New Jersey plant.
However, several hours after the car arrived at the Blue Island Rail Yard in Riverdale, Illinois (on Riverdale's border with Blue Island, Illinois), Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad employees noticed that acrylonitrile was gushing out of the car because the lid on the outlet was broken. Concerned because acrylonitrile is flammable, highly toxic, and possibly a carcinogen, local officials ordered an evacuation until the leak could be stopped and the car moved to a remote part of the rail yard.
Worried that the leak may have resulted in soil contamination and water contamination, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency subsequently ordered Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad to clean up the site. Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad ultimately spent approximately $980,000 on cleaning up the rail yard.
Indiana Harbor Belt Railroad brought suit against American Cyanamid seeking to recover the cleanup costs from American Cyanamid.
Official source
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