Opinion ID: 706842
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: The Failure to Prosecute Issue

Text: 40 The ADS Defendants contend that by failing to participate in the final pretrial conference and the trial itself, the United States effectively abandoned its claim for a declaratory decree as to future response costs, thus warranting dismissal of the United States' action against the ADS Defendants under Fed.R.Civ.P. 41(b) for failure to prosecute. We review the denial of a Rule 41(b) motion for an abuse of discretion. See Adams v. Trustees of the New Jersey Brewery Employees' Pension Trust Fund, 29 F.3d 863, 870 (3rd Cir.1994). Factors pertinent to the exercise of discretion in considering a failure to prosecute motion include: (1) the personal responsibility of the plaintiff; (2) prejudice to the defendants; (3) a history of dilatoriness; (4) the willfulness or bad faith of the plaintiff's conduct; (5) the adequacy of sanctions less drastic than dismissal; and (6) the meritoriousness of the plaintiff's claims. Id. The district court properly considered these factors in denying the ADS Defendants' motion to dismiss. 41 As the district court observed, there was no history of dilatoriness on the part of the United States; nor was there any evidence that the United States had acted in bad faith or with the intent to ambush the ADS Defendants, as they contend. Instead, when the United States announced its settlement with USX and Attwoods, it specifically informed the district court that declaratory relief with respect to future costs may be sought. The United States also indicated that, in light of the resolution of its claim for past response costs, it would not be participating in the pretrial conference or trial. There clearly was no need for the United States to attend a pretrial conference or sit through trial merely to preserve a claim for declaratory relief based solely on the district court's summary judgment rulings. When the ADS Defendants informed the district Court of their settlement, the United States once again reserved the right to seek the declaratory judgment to which it was entitled under Sec. 113(g)(2) of CERCLA. 16 Under these circumstances, failure of the United States to participate in the final pretrial conference and trial cannot be considered to be bad faith conduct. 42 Moreover, in light of the district court's summary judgment rulings, the United States' claim for a declaratory judgment as to liability for future response costs was clearly meritorious. Section 113(g)(2) of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C.A. Sec. 9613(g)(2)(1995), provides that in any Sec. 107 cost recovery action the district court shall issue a declaratory judgment on liability for response costs or damages that will be binding in any subsequent action to recover further response costs. 17 As explained in Kelley v. E.I. DuPont De Nemours & Co., 17 F.3d 836, 844 (6th Cir.1994): 43 In providing for the recovery of response costs, Congress included language to insure that a responsible party's liability, once established, would not have to be relitigated.... The entry of [a] declaratory judgment as to liability is mandatory. United States v. Kramer, 757 F.Supp. 397, 412 (D.N.J.1991). The fact that future costs are somewhat speculative is 'no bar to a present declaration of liability.' United States v. Fairchild Indus., Inc., 766 F.Supp. 405, 415 (D.Md.1991). 44 The ADS Defendants contend that the meritoriousness of the United States' claim does not erase the prejudice to them. But the prejudice claimed by the ADS Defendants flows from the effect of the declaratory judgment to which the United States was entitled as a result of the summary judgment liability determinations, and is not attributable to any dilatory conduct on the part of the United States. 18 The absence of the United States from the pretrial conference and trial did not impair the ADS Defendants' ability to defend against a claim for declaratory relief. While pursuit of the request for declaratory relief may seem to be unnecessary from a practical point of view (especially because USX has agreed to indemnify the ADS Defendants in connection with future response costs), it was certainly within the prerogative of the United States to seek such relief. Clearly, the ADS Defendants' claimed prejudice did not warrant dismissal of the United States cost recovery action. Accordingly, the district court did not abuse its discretion in declining to dismiss the claim for declaratory relief.