Campbell

This case arises out of contamination of groundwater in Chico, California, with the *1163 chemical trichloroethylene (TCE). After extensive investigation, the State of California brought suit against appellants alleging that the land they owned 1 was the source of the contamination. In an earlier summary judgment that was affirmed by this Court, they were found to be among those responsible for the pollution of the land. Appellants then brought a third-party complaint against Louisiana-Pacific Corporation (L-P) claiming that L-P had contributed to the contamination, so as to entitle appellants to partial indemnification. The District Court granted summary judgment in favor of L-P on the ground that there was insufficient evidence that TCE was ever released on L-P’s property. Appellants are before this Court arguing that they raised a genuine issue of material fact as to whether L-P was a source of the TCE contamination. We reverse the District Court’s grant of summary judgment, because, in our view, appellants did raise a genuine issue of material fact.

I.

In 1989, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control began investigating groundwater contamination in…