LOS ANGELES (Legal Newsline) – A company is disputing a California city's allegations that it is responsible for contamination at a site.
LA Terminals Inc. filed a complaint on Aug. 6 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California against the city of Los Angeles and Occidental Chemical Corp. citing the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA).
According to the complaint, the plaintiff is a former tenant of the city and operated on a property in Wilmington, California owned by the city. The suit states in March, the city filed a suit against the plaintiff, Occidental Chemical and Hooker Chemical Co. over allegations the city incurred damages of $48 million for investigation and cleanup costs at the property.
The plaintiff disputes these allegations and alleges that the defendants and two other companies are responsible for the alleged contamination.
The plaintiff alleges it has incurred response costs and that the defendants are liable for the costs incurred.
The plaintiff seeks judgment against defendants for the recovery of all response costs incurred, judicial determination and declaration under CERCLA, and further relief as the court may deem just. It is represented by Richard Montevideo and Travis Van Ligten of Rutan & Tucker LLP in Costa Mesa, California.
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California case number 2:18-cv-06754