Atlantic Richfield Company v. NL Industries, Inc. and NL Environmental Management Services

Summary

The United States District Court for the District of Colorado grants NL Industries, Inc. and NL Environmental Management Services leave to file and serve a third-party complaint against El Paso Remediation Company. The court finds good cause under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b)(4), no undue delay, prejudice, or apparent futility under Rule 15(a), appropriate supplemental jurisdiction, and a proper indemnification claim under Rule 14(a).

Holdings

1. NL established good cause to seek leave after the amendment deadline because it acted with reasonable or general diligence, promptly moved after discovering the 1940 Lease Agreement, and was not required to exhaust every possible avenue of inquiry or conduct a title search.
2. Assuming Rule 15(a) applies, leave to amend should be granted because NL did not unduly delay, ARCO would not suffer undue prejudice, and the proposed claims were not patently futile.
3. The court should exercise supplemental jurisdiction over NL's proposed indemnity claims because those claims did not substantially predominate over ARCO's CERCLA claims.
4. NL's proposed indemnity claims against El Paso were proper third-party claims because El Paso's potential liability depended at least in part on the outcome of ARCO's primary CERCLA action.

Questions Presented

1. Whether NL established good cause under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 16(b)(4) to seek amendment and joinder after the scheduling-order deadline.
2. Whether leave to amend should be granted under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 15(a) despite ARCO's arguments concerning undue delay, prejudice, and futility.
3. Whether the court should decline supplemental jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1367(c)(2) because the proposed indemnity claim would substantially predominate over ARCO's CERCLA claims.
4. Whether NL's proposed indemnity claims against El Paso are proper third-party claims under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 14(a)(1).

Disposition

other