United States Ninth Circuit

The district court's judgments for plaintiffs in litigation under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) concerning seepage of a toxic dry cleaning chemical into the ground under a Las Vegas shopping center, is: 1) affirmed in part, where the district court did not err in rejecting defendants' contention that application of CERCLA to soil and groundwater contamination that occurred solely in Nevada violated the Commerce Clause; 2) vacated in part and remanded, as against the current owner so that the owner might have an opportunity to make the additional showing that would be necessary to establish that it met an exception to CERCLA liability for bona fide prospective purchasers; 3) reversed in part and remanded, as against the current owner and operators because those defendants did not have an adequate opportunity to respond to plaintiffs' RCRA claims; and 4) reversed in part and remanded, as against the guarantor because there was no evidence of spills during the term of his guaranty. (Amended opinion)

Appellate Information

• Decided 10/04/2013
• Published 10/04/2013

Judges

• SCHROEDER

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel