Unocal Corp. v. United States

Nos. 99-55342, -55381 (222 F.3d 528, 51 ERC 1001) (9th Cir. August 7, 2000)

ELR Digest

The court upholds a juryverdict that a regional rail authority and an equipment contractor are liable to the owner of a pipeline for cleanup costs the owner incurred under the Oil Pollution Act (OPA) in connection with an oil spill that occurred after the pipeline was punctured during the construction of a railway station in Norwalk, California. The court first holds that the owner of the pipeline remained a responsible party throughout the period of the spill and the attempted containment. The court next holds, however, that the pipeline owner presented substantial evidence at trial that the authority and the equipment operator were the sole cause of the spill, that the owner exercised due care prior to the spill and during its containment, and that the owner took necessary precautions to prevent foreseeable harm. Therefore, the district court correctly denied the authority's motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict and for a new trial. The court further holds that the district court's award of prejudgment interest and denial of attorneys fees to the pipeline owner were proper under the OPA. The court additionally holds that although under OPA the district court should have issued a declaration stating that the authority and the equipment operator were liable for costs and damages caused by the spill, it did not err in refusing to declare them the responsible parties for the purposes of future litigation or in refusing to substitute their names on the hazardous waste manifests for disposal of waste materials generated by the spill.

The full text of this opinion is available from ELR (19 pp., ELR Order No. L-260).

Counsel for Plaintiffs
William H. Collier Jr.
Keesal, Young & Logan
400 Oceangate
P.O. Box 1730, Long Beach CA 90802
(562) 436-2000

Counsel for Defendants
Gregory M. Bergman
Bergman, Wedner & Dacey, Inc.
10880 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 900, Los Angeles CA 90024
(310) 470-6110

[31 ELR 20013]

[OPINION OMITTED BY PUBLISHER IN ORIGINAL SOURCE]