Catellus Development Corporation v. United States of America, Defendant-Amicus, General Automotive, Inc., a Washington Corporation

Opinion by Chief Judge WALLACE.

On this appeal, we consider whether a party that sells spent automotive batteries to a lead reclamation plant may be liable under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), 42 U.S.C. § 9601 et seq., for the costs of cleaning up the property where lead-containing remnants of the batteries are eventually dumped. Catellus Development Corp. (Catellus) appeals from the district court’s summaiy judgment which held that General Automotive (General) could not be made to contribute to the clean-up costs of Catellus’s property under the theory that it “arranged for disposal or treatment” of a hazardous substance. The district court had jurisdiction under 42 U.S.C. § 9613 (b) and 28 U.S.C. § 1331 . We have jurisdiction over this timely appeal pursuant to under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We reverse and remand.

I

General operates Grand Auto Parts Stores which receive used automotive batteries from customers as trade-ins. General’s policy in disposing of these batteries had been to drive a screwdriver through the spent batteries and then sell them to a battery cracking plant operated by Morris P. Kirk & Sons, Inc. (Kirk)…