1. Facts of the case: Burlington N. & S. F. R. Co. v. United States

Being that I'm the child of lifelong railroaders, I have decided to break down a very big Supreme Court case involving Burlington NSF vs. The United States. In 1960, Brown & Bryant, Inc. (B&B), an agricultural chemical distributor, began operating on a parcel of land located in Arvin, California. B&B later expanded onto an adjacent parcel owned by petitioners Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway Company and Union Pacific Railroad Company (Railroads). http://www.supremecourtus.gov/opinions/08pdf/07-1601.pdf The federal government had sought to hold the Shell Oil Company responsible for selling pesticides to the business, where the chemicals routinely leaked and spilled. The distribution business, Brown & Bryant, later became insolvent and ceased operation.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/05/business/05bizcourt.html?_r=1 After B&B went insolvent and the EPA spent over eight million dollars in an effort to clean up the toxic area. The United States sought compensation, stating that since Shell was responsible for the delivery and transfer of the chemicals to B&B's holding facilities; they were the party that was responsible for the carelessness of how the chemicals didn't fully make it into their holding containers. In addition, The United States also is seeking partial reimbursement from the railroad companies since they were now the legal land owners, and were responsible for the toxic chemicals that had seeped into the water table.