Key Tronic Corp. v. United States

Opinion by Judge ALARCON.

The district court awarded Key Tronic Corporation (Key Tronic) a total of $155,500 in attorney’s fees in this private response recovery action filed pursuant to section 107(a)(4)(B) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The district court concluded that section 107(a)(4)(B) authorized the payment of attorney’s fees as “necessary costs of response.” The district court awarded attorney’s fees for three categories of legal services: (1) attorney’s fees incurred in identifying other parties who were potentially responsible for the clean up costs; (2) attorney’s fees incurred in negotiating a consent decree with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); (3) attorney’s fees incurred in bringing this cost recovery action.

This court concluded that attorney’s fees are not recoverable as necessary response costs under section 107(a)(4)(B) and reversed that portion of the district court’s judgment awarding attorney’s fees. Key Tronic Cor *1106 poration v. United States, et al., 984 F.2d 1025, 1028 (9th Cir.1993). The Supreme Court granted certiorari.

I.

On June 6,1994, the Court issued its opinion in which this…