Western Properties Service Corporation v. Shell Oil Company

358 F.3d 678 WESTERN PROPERTIES SERVICE CORPORATION, an Arizona corporation, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. SHELL OIL COMPANY, a Delaware corporation; Union Oil Company, a California corporation; Texaco, Inc., a Delaware corporation; Atlantic Richfield Company, a Delaware corporation, Defendants-Appellants. No. 01-55676. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. Argued and Submitted May 8, 2002 — Pasadena, California. Filed February 13, 2004. COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED Peter R. Taft, Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP, Los Angeles, CA, for the appellants. Jaclyn C. Taner, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Washington, DC, for the appellee. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California; Carlos R. Moreno, District Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. CV-94-04695-CM. Before Andrew J. KLEINFELD and Susan P. GRABER, Circuit Judges, and Susan R. BOLTON, * District Judge. Opinion by Judge Kleinfeld. OPINION KLEINFELD, Circuit Judge: 1 This is a CERCLA contribution case. 1 The appellants were found to have arranged, during the early years of World War II, for the disposal of wastes from aviation fuel production. FACTS 2 The…