SKYLAND, NC – CTS is asking the US Supreme Court to dismiss a lawsuit that would force it to clean significant soil and groundwater contamination at its former site here.

In July, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals voted to allow the case to proceed to trial, overruling a lower court that said the statute of limitations had expired.

The lawsuit was filed in February 2011 by nearby homeowners concerned for their health and property values.

The site was closed in 1987, leading a North Carolina court to dismiss the lawsuit, saying it came outside the 10-year statute of limitations. The Appeals Court panel reversed that ruling, however, citing federal environmental liability law.

CTS, which is also a major provider of contract electronics assembly, manufactured industrial switches and resistors at the plant. Chemicals used there, including trichloroethylene, have been found in high concentrations in the ground and in nearby drinking water wells, say reports.

Tags: CTS, contamination, North Carolina, trichloroethylene