United States Federal Circuit

In an appeal from a decision of the Court of Federal Claims requiring the United States to indemnify certain oil companies for environmental cleanup costs under CERCLA, final judgment in favor of plaintiffs Shell Oil and Arco is vacated, where: 1) because the trial judge's wife owned shares in the parent company of plaintiffs Texaco and Union Oil, 28 USC section 455(b)(4) required recusal; 2) the judge's decision to sua sponte sever Texaco and Union Oil did not satisfy the statutory requirement of disqualifying himself from the entire proceeding; and 3) the trial judge's failure to recuse was not harmless error.

Appellate Information

• Decided 03/07/2012
• Published 03/07/2012

Judges

• O'Malley

Court

• United States Federal Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Michael W. Kirk, Stephen C. Tosini