Cam-Carson, LLC v. Carson Reclamation Authority

FACTS

We recite the facts as alleged in the operative complaint. 1. The Parties and the Background This case involves an undeveloped site the parties call the “157 Acre Site” in Carson. It was operated as a landfill in the 1950’s until its closure in 1965. It has sat vacant since then. The site has soil and groundwater contamination that requires environmental remediation before it can be developed. It is subject to a State remedial action plan. The plaintiff is a joint venture of subsidiaries of two major U.S. commercial real estate developers. The defendants are the City; the CRA, which is a joint powers authority that was “created by the City solely to oversee environmental remediation on the 157 Acre Site”; the Successor Agency to the now-dissolved Carson Redevelopment Authority; and RE Solutions, LLC (RES), the CRA’s primary contractor. (The first three are sometimes referred to collectively as the city defendants. The CRA and RES are not parties to this appeal.) Over the years, ownership of the 157 Acre Site changed hands between a number of private entities and developers, but none was able to complete the extensive remediation required. In 2006, the site was sold to…