It is a sweeping action that cancels a scheduled Jan. 4 trial in the case and seemingly leaves the two companies entirely responsible for the federally ordered river cleanup.
In his ruling, U.S. District Judge William Griesbach wrote that the defendants — including other paper mill operators and wastewater treatment plant operators — were “completely faultless or nearly so” in the PCB contamination that occurred during the 1950s and 60s.
The more than 20 defendants in the case included the cities of Green Bay and Appleton, as well as Brown County and other taxpayer-supported entities.
Papermaker Appleton and NCR filed the suit in January 2008 seeking unspecified contributions from all the defendants for a river cleanup that began this summer and is expected to continue several years. Originally projected to cost about $400 million, the cleanup more recently has been estimated at $1 billion to $1.5 billion.
NCR attorney Kathleen Roach declined to comment on today’s ruling but said that a statement might be issued later.
The Neenah-Menasha Sewerage Commission was one of the parties facing millions of dollars in potential liability under the lawsuit.
“The cities of Neenah and Menasha are extremely happy with this result,” Neenah City Atty. James Godlewski said. “It is not necessarily the end of the line because the plaintiffs can appeal the decision, but it certainly vindicates our position.”
federal judge in Green Bay today threw out a lawsuit filed by papermakers Appleton and NCR Corp.
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