City of Los Angeles v. Santa Monica BayKeeper

OVERVIEW

This appeal concerns the validity of a rescission order issued by the district court purporting to withdraw its previous order certifying an interlocutory appeal, and the effect the rescission order has on our ability to hear this appeal. We conclude that the rescission order was properly issued by the district court, and that we therefore lack jurisdiction to entertain the merits of this appeal.

DISCUSSION

1. Background

This case involves a citizen suit brought by Santa Monica BayKeeper and Terry Tamminen (collectively, “BayKeeper”) against Kaiser International Corporation *884 (“Kaiser”) and the City of Los Angeles (“the City”) for alleged violations of the Clean Water Act and Clean Ah" Act. Bay-Keeper is a not-for-profit public benefit corporation whose stated mission is to survey the environmental health of the Pacific Ocean, its bays and estuaries, and its surrounding watersheds in or near the Los Angeles Basin. In December of 1998, Kaiser and the City filed a motion seeking the dismissal of BayKeeper’s suit pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6). Kaiser and the City argued, inter alia, that BayKeeper’s allegations concerning Kaiser’s…