On February 26, 2015, in Coty US LLC v. 680 S. 17th Street LLC, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division, pierced the veil of a New Jersey limited liability company and held its sole member liable for environmental cleanup costs it agreed to undertake in the purchase of real estate in Newark, New Jersey.
Del Laboratories, Inc. previously owned the property in question, which was subject to New Jersey’s Industrial Site Recovery Act (ISRA). As a result of former industrial operations, soil and groundwater contamination existed at the site. Airaj Hasan formed 680 S. 17th Street, LLC for the purpose of acquiring the property and engaged in a sale transaction with Del in 2007. Under the purchase agreement, 680 LLC agreed to assume all environmental liabilities, including, but not limited to, its obligations under ISRA. 680 LLC also agreed to indemnify Del for its liabilities respecting the property under all environmental laws. About a year after selling the property to 680 LLC, Del merged with Plaintiff Coty US LLC.
In April 2010, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) sent a directive to 680 LLC and Del (presently Coty) stating that 680 LLC failed to perform required vapor intrusion sampling and to submit required reports to the NJDEP. As a result of 680 LLC failing to respond, Coty contacted the NJDEP and retained a LSRP itself to conduct required remediation at the property and to also avoid civil penalties. Subsequently, Coty sought to hold 680 LLC and Mr. Hasan liable for the costs it incurred in responding to the NJDEP directive.
Coty contended that Mr. Hasan should be held personally liable for Coty’s environmental costs in connection with the property. Coty argued that 680 LLC continuously represented that it had sufficient resources to conduct remediation at the site and to perform all its obligations under ISRA. The Court agreed with Coty and found that 680 LLC was merely a “shell company” established for the purpose of acquiring the property and had no cash flow or assets other than the parcel of real estate. Consequently, the Court found it proper to pierce the LLC veil of the single purpose real estate entity. The Court emphasized that Mr. Hasan represented numerous times that 680 LLC had enough financial resources to complete the necessary environmental work, despite its known inability to do so.
The Court’s decision in Coty is significant, as it may serve to increase the susceptibility of sole members of LLCs to environmental liabilities in the purchase of real property. It further demonstrates that environmental liabilities can reach far beyond the protection of the corporate or LLC forms and reach members, officers, directors, and shareholders.
