California has rejected a proposed settlement with Exide Technologies LLC, roiling the lead-acid battery maker’s push to walk away from a legacy of toxic contamination by way of bankruptcy court, em>WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Exide, in bankruptcy court for the third time in 16 years, failed to make good on the promises it made to California on its last trip through chapter 11, Daniel Cantor , a lawyer for the state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control, said at a hearing yesterday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. According to Cantor, Exide was supposed to pay $50 million to clean up a battery-recycling plant, located about 5 miles south of downtown Los Angeles in Vernon, Calif., and make sure it isn’t a danger to the surrounding community. It hasn’t done so, he said. The Vernon plant has been closed since 2015 as part of a deal to avoid criminal prosecution. Exide, based in Milton, Ga., has disputed allegations of danger and failure to make good on its nonprosecution deal. “For decades, the Vernon site, your honor, recycled batteries and released thousands of pounds of lead, which is a powerful neurotoxin,” Cantor told Judge Christopher Sontchi. The plant requires daily maintenance to ensure that toxic lead dust isn’t blown into the surrounding communities, he said. Exide has called off a planned Friday hearing on its chapter 11 exit plan, which would hand lenders ownership of its non-U.S. businesses and get them off the hook for contamination.
