Ascon Properties, Inc. v. Mobil Oil Corp. (9^th Cir. 1989) 866 F.2d 1149.

In this case, the Metzger Law Group represented a developer that purchased a landfill but was unable to build condominiums and a mall on it because of toxic contamination.  The contamination was so extensive that the State of California decreed the landfill a Superfund site.  On behalf of the developer, the Metzger Law Group sued several major oil companies whose waste petroleum products had been transported to and dumped at the site, alleging violations of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA).  The federal district court dismissed the action for failure to state a claim, but the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed, establishing pleading requirements for CERCLA cost recovery cases.