Subdivision 1. Right of apportionment. (a) A responsible party held liable under this chapter has the right to have the trier of fact apportion liability among the responsible parties as provided in this section. The burden is on each responsible party to show how that responsible party's liability should be apportioned. The trier of fact shall reduce the amount of damages in proportion to the amount of liability apportioned to the party recovering.
(b) In apportioning the liability of a party under this section, the trier of fact shall consider the following:
(1) the extent to which that responsible party contributed to the incident;
(2) the amount of agricultural chemical involved;
(3) the degree of toxicity of the agricultural chemical involved;
(4) the degree of involvement of and care exercised by the responsible party in manufacturing, formulating, handling, storing, distributing, transporting, applying, and disposing of the agricultural chemical;
(5) the degree of cooperation by the responsible party with federal, state, or local officials to prevent any harm to the public health or the environment; and
(6) knowledge by the responsible party of the hazardous nature of the agricultural chemical.
Subd. 2. Contribution. If a responsible party is held liable under this chapter and establishes a proportionate share of the aggregate liability, the provisions of section 604.02, subdivisions 1 and 2, shall apply with respect to contribution and reallocation of any uncollectible amounts, except that an administrative law judge may also perform the functions of a court identified in section 604.02, subdivision 2.
History:1989 c 326 art 7 s 6