Clarios Loses Waiver to Delay Cleanup of Defunct NJ Delphi Plant

Car battery maker Clarios LLC can’t defer cleanup costs for a New Jersey battery plant previously operated by Delphi Automotive Systems LLC, a state court ruled Monday.

The car battery manufacturing giant could be on the hook for additional cleanup costs at a New Brunswick, N.J., plant transferred to Clarios’ predecessor—Johnson Controls Battery Group Inc.—in 2006. Clarios didn’t have the right to a hearing that would allow it to fight to keep a cleanup-delaying waiver from the state, the New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division ruled.

“No property interest exists here, so ‘constitutionally sufficient’ hearing procedures ...