FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION AUG 01 2011
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
HINDS INVESTMENTS, L.P., No. 10-15605
Plaintiff - Appellee, D.C. No. 1:07-cv-00703-LJO-GSA
PATRICIA MCLAUGHLIN, Trustee of
the Thomas F. Hinds and Mary Jane Hinds MEMORANDUM *
Living Trust,
Plaintiff-counter-defendant -
Appellee,
v.
ALBERT ANGIOLI; BURNELL
ANGIOLI; MULTIMATIC
CORPORATION; MULTIMATIC DRY
CLEANING MACHINE
CORPORATION; MULTIMATIC LLC;
KIRRBERG CORPORATION; HOYT
CORPORATION; R.R. STREET & CO.,
INC.,
Defendants,
and
TEAM ENTERPRISES, INC.,
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
Defendant-cross-claimant -
Appellant,
v.
CSK AUTO, INC., DBA Kragen Auto
Parts; COOPER INDUSTRIES LTD,
Third-party-defendant -
Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of California
Lawrence J. O’Neill, District Judge, Presiding
Argued and Submitted May 13, 2011
San Francisco, California
Before: O’SCANNLAIN and GOULD, Circuit Judges, and ST. EVE, District
Judge.**
Team Enterprises, LLC (“Team”) appeals the dismissal, pursuant to Federal
Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), of its third-party contribution claims against
Cooper Industries, LLC (“Cooper”) and asserts that the district court erred in
denying it the opportunity to amend its complaint. Because the facts are known to
the parties, we repeat them only as necessary to explain our decision. We have
jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We affirm.
**
The Honorable Amy J. St. Eve, U.S. District Judge for the Northern
District of Illinois, sitting by designation.
2
Team seeks to hold Cooper liable as an “arrange[r]” under the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. See
42 U.S.C. § 9607(a)(3). The district court properly found that Team’s allegations,
taken as true, are too far removed to attempt to impose arranger liability on
Cooper. See Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S. Ct. 1937, 1949 (2009) (“To survive a motion
to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to
‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v.
Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007))). Team failed to allege facts showing that
Cooper entered into a dry cleaning franchise agreement for the purpose of
disposing of perchlorethylene or that Cooper exercised actual control over the
disposal process. See Team Enters., LLC v. W. Inv. Real Estate Trust, No. 10-
16916, — F.3d — (9th Cir. 2011); see also Burlington N. & Santa Fe Ry. Co. v.
United States, 129 S. Ct. 1870, 1880 (2009).
The district court did not err in denying Team leave to amend its third-party
complaint or in denying Team’s motion for reconsideration.1 Team argues that its
1
Though Team styled its motion as a motion to alter, amend, or vacate
judgment under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 59(e) and 60(b), we agree with
the district court that the motion is properly treated as a motion for reconsideration.
See Miller v. Transam. Press, Inc., 709 F.2d 524, 527 (9th Cir. 1983) (“The court
will construe [a motion], however styled, to be the type proper for the relief
requested.”).
3
proposed additional allegations—including that Cooper provided a floor layout for
Team’s store and that Cooper inspected the facility before the store opened for
business—would be sufficient to allege arranger liability. But Team does not
contend that Cooper itself “hooked up the [dry cleaning equipment] to the sewer,
. . . own[ed] the [dry cleaning equipment] used in Team’s store, . . . owned or
possessed the PCE that Team disposed of, [or] . . . made dumping wastewater
down the drain a condition of its sales contract with Team.” Team Enters., LLC,
slip. op. at __. Because amendment would have been futile, the district court did
not abuse its discretion in denying Team leave to amend. See Serra v. Lappin, 600
F.3d 1191, 1200 (9th Cir. 2010) (finding no error in denial of leave to amend
where proposed amendments would have been futile).
AFFIRMED.
4