California v. Aerojet General Corp.

MEMORANDUM *

The State of California and Aerojet entered into a partial consent decree gov *641 erning the investigation and clean-up of environmental conditions at the Aerojet operating plant near Sacramento in 1986. In 1999, a private purveyor, American States Water Company (“ASWC”), brought a separate suit in state court against the State alleging damage to its ground water sources. The State filed a cross complaint against Aerojet seeking indemnity for any liability arising out of the separate action. Aerojet filed a claim for injunctive relief in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California seeking to prohibit the State from pursuing its cross complaint, based on two provisions in the partial consent decree. The district court granted Aerojet’s motion, declaring that the two provisions forbade the State from suing Aerojet. We affirm.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

This court reviews a district court’s interpretation of a consent decree de novo. Gates v. Gomez, 60 F.3d 525, 530 (9th Cir.1995). Whether a consent decree is reasonably susceptible of a meaning advanced by parol evidence is also reviewed de novo. Brinderson-Newberg Joint Venture v. Poxific…