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9. Liability imposed by statuteSome courts have found support for successor liability in the broad purpose language ofvarious statutes, such as CERCLA, the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide & Rodenticide Act, 50 theEmployee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”) 51 and Title VII of the Civil RightsAct of 1964 (“Title VII”). 52 The two-part analysis often used by the courts in the Superfund casesrequires the court to first find that a successor could be liable under the provisions of the statute, andthen to apply one or more of the exceptions described above to determine whether the corporation inquestion is, in fact, a successor upon which liability could be imposed.Besides federal statutes, state laws may also be used to impose liability on a successor.Many states have enacted statutes which largely parallel federal counterparts, especially with respectto environmental obligations. In addition, state tax statutes often impose liability on a successor forcertain types of unpaid taxes of the seller, although the types of asset sales which are covered, thetypes of taxes and the notice and clearance procedures that allow the buyer to eliminate its potentialliability differ from state to state. The buyer must determine which states’ laws apply, keeping inmind that more than one state’s laws may be applicable. State laws often apply to assets located inthat state, regardless of the jurisdiction selected by the parties in their choice of law provision. Thevalidity of such statutes generally has been upheld against attacks on a variety of grounds, includingallegations that the statutes violated the due process or equal protection clauses of the Constitution,or unconstitutionally impaired the asset purchase agreement. 53IV.Public Policy Considerations-- Does It Matter What Kind Of Case It Is?1. Product Liability CasesAs products liability law has evolved since the early 1960s, the courts increasingly havedetermined that injured consumers who otherwise lack a remedy should be able to recover againstsuccessors. More than one court found itself swayed by the plaintiff’s inability to bring suit againsteither a dissolved corporation or its scattered former shareholders. 545051525354__ U.S.C. §____. See, for example, Oner II v. EPA, 597 F.2d 184 (9 th Cir. 1974), the first reportedenvironmental case to impose successor liability.29 U.S.C. §1001 et seq. See, for example, Upholsterers’ Int’l. Union Pension Fund v. Artistic Furniture,920 F.2d 1323 (7 th Cir. 1990).42 U.S.C. §2000e et seq. See, for example, E.E.O.C. v. MacMillan Bloedel Containers, Inc., 503 F.2d1086 (6 th Cir. 1974).People et rel. Salisbury Axle Co. v. Lynch, 259 N.Y. 228, 181 N.E. 460 (1932); Knudsen Dairy ProductsCo. v. State Board of Equalization, 12 Cal.App. 3d 47, 90 Cal.Rptr. 533 (1970); Pierce-Arrow Motor Corp.v. Mealey, 59 N.Y.S.2d 568 (1946); and Tri-Financial Corp. v. Dept. of Revenue, 6 Wash.App. 637, 495P.2d 690 (Wash.App. 1972).Schulman, Commentary: Successor Corporation Liability and the Inadequacy of the Product LineContinuity Approach, 1986-1987 Corp. Prac. Commentator 588, 5990 (hereinafter, SchulmanCommentary).Appendix C – Page 92525936v1