(1)  The state may assert a cause of action directly against an insurer or guarantor of an owner or operator if:

Terms Used In Utah Code 19-6-117

  • Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
  • Director: means the director of the Division of Waste Management and Radiation Control. See Utah Code 19-6-102
  • Disposal: means the discharge, deposit, injection, dumping, spilling, leaking, or placing of any solid or hazardous waste into or on land or water so that the waste or any constituent of the waste may enter the environment, be emitted into the air, or discharged into any waters, including groundwaters. See Utah Code 19-6-102
  • Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
  • Guarantor: A party who agrees to be responsible for the payment of another party's debts should that party default. Source: OCC
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Storage: means the actual or intended containment of solid or hazardous waste either on a temporary basis or for a period of years in such a manner as not to constitute disposal of the waste. See Utah Code 19-6-102
  • Treatment: means a method, technique, or process designed to change the physical, chemical, or biological character or composition of any solid or hazardous waste so as to neutralize the waste or render the waste nonhazardous, safer for transport, amenable for recovery, amenable to storage, or reduced in volume. See Utah Code 19-6-102
(a)  a cause of action exists against an owner or operator of a treatment, storage, or disposal facility, based upon conduct for which the director requires evidence of financial responsibility under Section 19-6-108, and that owner or operator is in bankruptcy, reorganization, or arrangement pursuant to the federal Bankruptcy Code; or

(b)  jurisdiction over an owner or operator, who is likely to be solvent at the time of judgment, cannot be obtained in state or federal court.

(2)  In that action, the insurer or guarantor may assert all rights and defenses available to the owner or operator, in addition to rights and defenses that would be available to the insurer or guarantor in an action brought against him by the owner or operator.

Amended by Chapter 360, 2012 General Session