Following trials in May and August 2023, Judge Wilson issued decisions holding:

• DTSC established that releases from the Vernon Plant contaminated the Vernon Plant itself, including the buildings, paved surface, topsoil and the subsurface of the Plant, subsurface areas immediately adjacent to the Plant where acid pits were located, as well as groundwater up to and including the perched zone, but not including the deeper Exposition Aquifer.
• Seven of the nine Defendants are jointly and severally liable for the contamination in the above areas. Two Defendants are not liable for anything.
• No Defendant is liable for any air contamination that landed beyond the boundaries of the Vernon Plant.

Phase 2 Trial

The second major phase of DTSC’s cost recovery litigation will occur in May 2023, with a trial starting on Tuesday, May 30th at 9:00 a.m. at the U.S. District Court (Central District of California). The trial will be in-person and open to the public.

• Trial location: First Street Courthouse, 350 W. 1st Street, Courtroom 10A, 10th Floor, Los Angeles, California 90012
• Judge: Honorable Stephen V. Wilson
• Covid protocol: Please see coronavirus guidance on the court’s website
• Trial topic: DTSC’s cost recovery for lead contamination at the Vernon Plant and within 1/2 mile of the Vernon Plant
• Trial length: Unknown (potentially up to a week or more)

Note: This trial does not include any of the third parties that were added to the litigation by defendant NL Industries (see August 2021 update, below).

For questions regarding the courthouse, please go to the court’s website.

After the May 2022 trial, Judge Wilson issued a decision in October.

• The Court found that the scientific evidence was insufficient to establish that lead from the Vernon Plant could have plausibly caused contamination throughout the residential Preliminary Investigation Area (PIA). Thus, the Defendants were not held liable for costs of the cleanup in the residential portion of the PIA.
• The Court held that DTSC can potentially recover costs for lead contamination within 1/2 mile of the Vernon Plant.

Phase 1 Trial

DTSC’s cost recovery litigation against Defendants has been ongoing since December 2020. The first major phase of the litigation occurred in May 2022, with a trial to determine the scope of the compensable cleanup area.

In December 2020, DTSC filed a Complaint against three former operators/owners of the Exide facility, and seven arrangers and transporters that sent material to the facility. A copy of the Complaint, and information about it, can be found in DTSC’s news release: California Sues Former Owners and Operators of Exide’s Vernon Site.

In August 2021, Defendant NL Industries filed a Third-Party Complaint against:

1. Five nearby industrial facility owners,
2. Nine local governments that own property in the Preliminary Investigation Area (PIA), and
3. Fifty entities that own properties (some already cleaned up, some others not yet cleaned up) in the PIA.

Documents filed in court in response to the Third-Party Complaint include (list below is not all inclusive):

• Extension of time for City of Los Angeles to respond to the Third-Party Complaint and request for Court to approve the extension.
  • Stipulation requesting extension
  • Declaration in support of Stipulation
  • Proposed Order for Court to approve the extension
• Extension of time for County of Los Angeles to respond to the Third-Party Complaint and request for Court to approve the extension.
  • Stipulation requesting extension
  • Declaration in support of Stipulation
  • Proposed Order for Court to approve the extension
• Dismissal of Champery Rental REO LLC (one of the fifty entities named in the Third-Party Complaint)
• Order Granting Joint Motion to Stay Third-Party Deadlines

Contact information for the NL Industries attorney who signed the Third-Party Complaint, the above Dismissal, and the above Stipulation, is listed on the first page of the Third-Party Complaint.

Any party named in the Third-Party Complaint who desires but cannot afford legal representation may be able to obtain assistance from the resources below. DTSC has not had any extensive conversation with either of these institutions. They may or may not be able to assist.

• Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles
• Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County