NL Industries, Inc. v. Kaplan, 85-2783
| Court | United States Courts of Appeals. United States Court of Appeals (9th Circuit) |
| Writing for the Court | Before WALLACE, KENNEDY and FARRIS; WALLACE |
| Citation | 792 F.2d 896 |
| Parties | , 16 Envtl. L. Rep. 20,749 NL INDUSTRIES, INC., Petitioner-Appellant, v. Stuart M. KAPLAN, Respondent-Appellee. |
| Docket Number | No. 85-2783,85-2783 |
| Decision Date | 20 June 1986 |
Page 896
v.
Stuart M. KAPLAN, Respondent-Appellee.
Ninth Circuit.
Decided June 20, 1986.
Page 897
Jennifer L. Machlin, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, San Francisco, Cal., for petitioner-appellant.
John D. Hoffman, Ellman, Burke & Cassidy, San Francisco, Cal., for respondent-appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
Before WALLACE, KENNEDY and FARRIS, Circuit Judges.
WALLACE, Circuit Judge:
NL Industries, Inc. (NL Industries) appeals from the district court's denial of its motion to dismiss Kaplan's action for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. This appeal concerns the pleading requirements of a private cause of action under section 107(a) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), 42 U.S.C. Sec. 9607(a). We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1292(b), and we affirm.
Kaplan's complaint alleges that Kaplan is the court-appointed receiver for 2222 Ltd. (the partnership), a California limited partnership that owns a parcel of real property in San Francisco (the parcel). The partnership acquired the parcel in February 1980 for the purpose of developing a condominium project. It later learned that the parcel was severely contaminated with deposits of various hazardous substances. State and local officials, acting pursuant to California hazardous waste control and water quality laws and other state and local statutes, regulations, and ordinances, have required Kaplan, as receiver for the partnership, to expend approximately $1,200,000 in detecting, identifying, controlling, and disposing of these hazardous substances.
From approximately 1933 to 1971, NL Industries owned the parcel and operated on it facilities for the production of paint, varnish, shellac, lacquer, and related products. From before 1900 until 1933, two corporations owned, controlled, and directed by NL Industries owned the parcel and conducted similar production operations. During these two periods, NL Industries and the two corporations owned by it deposited the hazardous substances that contaminate the parcel.
Kaplan sued NL Industries in district court under CERCLA Sec. 107(a), 42 U.S.C. Sec. 9607(a), to recover the partnership's costs of responding to the hazardous substances. The district court issued an order
Page 898
denying NL Industries' motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. The district court certified its order for immediate appeal, and we granted permission to appeal. See 28 U.S.C. Sec. 1292(b).We...
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...must treat all facts alleged in the complaint as true, and resolve all doubts in favor of the nonmoving party. NL Indus., Inc. v. Kaplan, 792 F.2d 896, 898 (9th Cir.1986); Experimental Eng'g, Inc. v. United Tech. Corp., 614 F.2d 1244, 1245 (9th Cir.1980). BACKGROUND Plaintiffs are non-profi......
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...true all material allegations in the complaint and construe them in the light most favorable to" the plaintiff. NL Industries, Inc. v. Kaplan, 792 F.2d 896, 898 (9th Cir.1986). Yet, the court need not accept as true allegations that contradict facts which may be judicially noticed. Mullis v......
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Gray v. Hernandez, Case No. 08 CV 1147 JM (AJB).
...to be drawn from them, and must construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. N.L. Industries, Inc. v. Kaplan, 792 F.2d 896, 898 (9th Cir.1986); Parks School of Business, Inc. v. Symington, 51 F.3d 1480, 1484 (9th Cir.1995). The court does not look at whether the plai......
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Francis v. Gill, CASE NO. 1:12-cv-00748-AWI-GBC (PC)
...355 U.S. 41, 45-46 (1957)); see also Synagogue v. United States, 482 F.3d 1058, 1060 (9th Cir. 2007); NL Industries, Inc. v. Kaplan, 792 F.2d 896, 898 (9th Cir. 1986). In determining whether to dismiss an action, the Court must accept as true the allegations of the complaint in question, an......