CTS Corp. v. Waldburger

This case was brought on behalf of individuals who live on or near a property owned by a company called CTS, which manufactured electronics parts, and who have been and continue to be exposed to toxins left behind by CTS. Before the U.S. Supreme Court, this case presented the question whether Congress intended the discovery rule in the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. § 9658, to apply to all less favorable limitations periods in state statutes of limitations, including provisions within state statutes of limitations that can be characterized as statutes of repose. Serving as co-counsel in the Supreme Court, we argued that section 9658 preempts the repose provision in the applicable North Carolina statute.

The Court ruled in favor of CTS. In response, the North Carolina legislature amended its statute to make clear that the repose provision does not bar an action for property damages caused or contributed to by groundwater contaminated by a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant.