TDY Holdings, LLC v. United States

372 F. Supp. 3d 1091
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. California
DecidedMarch 1, 2019
DocketCase No.: 07-CV-787-CAB-BGS
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 372 F. Supp. 3d 1091 (TDY Holdings, LLC v. United States) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
TDY Holdings, LLC v. United States, 372 F. Supp. 3d 1091 (S.D. Cal. 2019).

Opinion

Hon. Cathy Ann Bencivengo, United States District Judge

This matter is back before the Court on remand from the Ninth Circuit. Plaintiffs TDY Holdings LLC, TDY Industries, LLC and their predecessor, the Ryan Aeronautical Company (collectively, "TDY") seek to recover from Defendant the United States of America (the "government") an equitable allocation of the costs TDY incurred cleaning up hazardous wastes at an aeronautical manufacturing plant TDY operated in San Diego, California from 1939 to 1999 (the "Site"), pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act ("CERCLA").

I. Procedural Background

Following a bench trial, the Court determined that TDY, as an owner of facilities and the sole operator of the Site, was the responsible party for the contamination at issue in the litigation and the associated response costs. The Court further concluded that the government, although a past owner of facilities at the Site, was not the responsible party for the introduction of the contaminants of concern into the Site's soil, sediment and water that necessitated the remediation efforts. TDY Holdings, LLC v. United States , 122 F.Supp.3d 998, 1022 (S.D. Cal. 2015). Accordingly, the Court in its discretion allocated 100% of the past and future response costs to TDY. Id.

*1094On appeal to the Ninth Circuit, TDY argued that the Court abused its discretion when it allocated all cleanup costs to TDY. TDY Holdings, LLC v. United States, 885 F.3d 1142, 1147 (9th Cir. 2018). TDY did not appeal the Court's factual findings regarding TDY's role as the sole operator of the manufacturing plant or the Court's findings that TDY's manufacturing, storage and disposal practices were the cause of the chemical contaminants seeping into the soil and groundwater beneath the plant. Id. at 1147, 1150. According to TDY, despite these undisturbed factual findings, the Court abused its discretion because it misunderstood CERCLA's strict liability statutory scheme by giving improper weight to the government's role as a past owner and TDY's role as the operator of the Site, thereby erroneously allocating based on "fault." Id. at 1147-48.

The Ninth Circuit rejected these arguments and found the Court did not misconstrue the concept of "fault" or misunderstand CERCLA's strict liability statutory scheme. TDY Holdings , 885 F.3d at 1147. It found the District Court appropriately considered the roles of the parties and properly applied the factors frequently considered by courts resolving contribution claims, known as the Gore Factors. Id. at 1147-48 ; see also Boeing Co. v. Cascade Corp. , 207 F.3d 1177, 1187 (9th Cir. 2000) (discussing the Gore factors).

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Ninth Circuit ultimately concluded that the Court erred in allocating 100% of the remediation costs to TDY and remanded for further proceedings. Id. at 1048-49. Specifically, it found that the Court erred in its analysis and application of two Ninth Circuit cases involving the allocations of CERCLA cleanup costs between military contractors and the government: United States v. Shell Oil Co. , 294 F.3d 1045 (9th Cir. 2002) ; and Cadillac Fairview/California, Inc. v. Dow Chemical Co. , 299 F.3d 1019 (9th Cir. 2002). TDY Holdings , 885 F.3d at 1148. The Ninth Circuit focused on the fact the government's specifications required the use of two of the three chemical contaminants at issue, chromium compounds and chlorinated solvents, in the processing of certain parts and concluded the Court did not give sufficient consideration to that factor. Id. at 1148-49. Further the Ninth Circuit concluded that the Court did not give sufficient consideration to the course of contractual dealings between the government and TDY regarding environmental cleanup costs at the Site. Id. at 1149. The Court was therefore ordered to reevaluate its equitable allocation focusing on these particular factors.

II. The Legal Standard

CERCLA was designed to promote the timely cleanup of hazardous waste sites and ensure that the costs of such cleanup efforts are borne by the parties responsible for the contamination. Burlington N. & Santa Fe Ry. Co. v. United States, 556 U.S. 599, 602, 129 S.Ct. 1870, 173 L.Ed.2d 812 (2009). To be subject to liability under CERCLA, a party must be a statutorily-defined potentially responsible party ("PRP"). PRPs fall into four categories: (1) an owner or operator of a facility; (2) a past owner or operator at the time of the disposal of the hazardous substance; (3) an arranger of waste disposal; or (4) an entity that accepts the waste for treatment or disposal.

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Bluebook (online)
372 F. Supp. 3d 1091, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tdy-holdings-llc-v-united-states-casd-2019.