August 04, 2023
During closing arguments Friday in the division of liability phase of a federal bench trial over contamination at a battery plant, an attorney for California's chemical regulator said that accepting a defendant's argument that slag and acid are safely sealed underground at the Vernon, California, site means accepting it as "a graveyard."
August 02, 2023
An expert for a defendant in a California toxic chemical regulators' lawsuit over a Superfund battery recycling plant testified in a bench trial on Wednesday that a former operator of the site, co-defendant NL Industries, dumped thousands of gallons of acid into the ground on a daily basis.
August 01, 2023
A California federal judge on Tuesday lamented the bureaucratic mess before the court at the start of a bench trial's third phase over a Superfund battery recycling plant in the city of Vernon, wondering if someone one day will write a book similar to the film "Chinatown" on the case.
May 30, 2023
California toxic chemical regulators seeking cleanup reimbursement at a Superfund battery recycling plant in the city of Vernon delivered opening statements Tuesday in the second phase of the federal bench trial, arguing the defendant companies released groundwater contaminants, while the companies blamed a facility almost a mile away.
October 25, 2022
A California federal judge handed a win to companies battling the state over the $136 million cleanup of a former battery recycling center near downtown Los Angeles, ruling that the area in which liability can be determined is much smaller than what the state asked for.
May 13, 2022
A soil scientist hired by defendant metal companies and battery manufacturers to testify in a $136 million Superfund cleanup trial said Friday he believed not all the lead that was released from the now-defunct Vernon Plant battery recycling facility traveled beyond the industrial zone and onto residential properties.
May 12, 2022
An expert hired by the California Department of Toxic Substance Control testified in a $136 million bench trial Thursday that lead levels in soil samples taken near a former battery recycling plant in Vernon were three times higher than in a comparable area about 14 miles south.
May 11, 2022
The California Department of Toxic Substances Control opened a bench trial Wednesday seeking more than $136 million for the cleanup of a former battery recycling facility, contending that the plant carried lead emitted from nearly a century of operations up to two miles away.
June 08, 2021
California says lead company NL Industries Inc. is attempting to leapfrog out of a $136 million toxic cleanup suit by introducing a "tome" of exhibits that are premature and unrelated to present motions.
April 22, 2021
Lead company NL Industries Inc. urged a California federal court Thursday to let it out of a suit from state officials seeking over $136 million from several companies for cleanup of a former battery recycling facility, arguing it bears no blame for the current state of the property.