Historical contamination has been discovered at my plant’s site, are current board members liable for it, and if so, how?

Client

Global industrial systems manufacturer

The situation

The discovery of historical soil or groundwater contamination at an operational production site confronts company management with a question that is rarely asked directly but is always present in the background: are we, as the current board members, liable for contamination that arose before our time? And by taking or failing to take remediation action, are we exposing ourselves to personal liability? A global industrial systems manufacturer, operating the plant in Poland, faced a complex contamination situation on the installation’s site, involving both local risks and potential off-site impacts, beyond the plant’s boundaries.

Our role

We advised the client on the long-term management of site contamination, including potential liabilities beyond the property boundary. A key element of our advisory is the analysis and development of a strategy for limiting directors’ personal liability for the company’s environmental obligations. This is an area of Polish law that requires an unconventional approach: the rules do not regulate it directly, which means that solutions must be built on the basis of general principles and case law. We worked closely with technical consultants, environmental risk assessment requires simultaneous legal and technical perspectives. We prepared the legal component of the Remediation Action Plan and represented the client before the competent authorities.

The result

The matter is an example of our ability to manage cases in which environmental law, corporate law and board member liability intersect in a way for which Polish regulations provide no ready answer. It is precisely in such cases that cooperation with specialists is most crucial.

Have you discovered historical contamination at your plant and are considering board liability? We can help assess the risk and build a protection strategy.