Pacific Sound Resources v. Burlington Northern & Santa Fe Railway Co.

MEMORANDUM *

Pacific Sound Resources (“PSR”) brought this action against Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway (“the Burlington”) for contribution under Washington’s Model Toxics Control Act, Washington Revised Code § 70.105D.080 (“the Act”). 1 The district court dismissed PSR’s claims against the Burlington for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, holding that PSR lacked Article III standing to sue. The court awarded attorneys’ fees to the Burlington as a prevailing party under the Act. PSR appeals both orders. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 .

A. PSR’s Standing

We review de novo the district court’s determination that a party lacks standing. *383 See Buono v. Norton, 371 F.3d 543, 546 (9th Cir.2004). The district court found that PSR had suffered actual injury fairly traceable to the challenged action of the defendant, and that PSR thus had satisfied the first two prongs of standing analysis. See Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560-61 , 112 S.Ct. 2130 , 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992) (setting forth elements of constitutional standing as (1) injury in fact, (2) traceable to action of the defendant, and (3) likely to be redressed by a favorable…