§ 79765 Contractor Cost Liability Limits

Health and Safety Code·California

AI SummaryVerified

Key Takeaways

•If a cleanup contractor is found responsible for some costs, they only have to pay for the part they caused.
•The contractor must prove how much of the cost is their fault.
•They don’t have to pay for costs they didn’t cause.

Example

A company hires a contractor to clean up a spill, but the contractor accidentally makes part of the spill worse.

The contractor only has to pay for the extra cleanup costs they caused, not the whole spill.

AI-generated — May contain errors. Not legal advice. Always verify source.

Official Source

View on CA.gov

§ 79765 Contractor Cost Liability Limits

Notwithstanding this part, a response action contractor who is found liable for any costs recoverable under this part and who establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that only a portion of those costs are attributable to the response action contractor’s actions shall be required to pay only that portion of the costs attributable to the response action contractor’s actions. (Added by Stats. 2022, Ch. 257, Sec. 2. (AB 2293) Effective January 1, 2023. Operative January 1, 2024, pursuant to Sec. 4 of Stats. 2022, Ch. 257.)

Last verified: January 24, 2026

Key Terms

contract port cleanup evidence operative january preponderance

References

Official text at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
California Legislature. Health and Safety Code. Section 79765.

Key Takeaways

Example

Key Terms

Related Statutes

References

Key Takeaways

Example

Key Terms

Related Statutes

References