Baker v. Atlantic Richfield Co.

Dist. Ct. erred in granting plaintiffs' motion to remand their cause of action to Indiana state court, where defendants had removed to federal court under 28 USC section 1442(a)(1) plaintiffs’ action alleging that defendants or their predecessor entities had polluted soil in and around site of plaintiffs’ later-built residence. Defendants could properly assert that they were entitled to government contractor defense to support removal of plaintiffs' lawsuit to federal court due to contracts they had with government during World War II to produce/supply lead and other pollutants according to government specifications, where at time of said production government had thoroughly regulated use of said pollutants. While Dist. Ct. justified remand to state court on its belief that defendants had only acted under color of federal office for small part of alleged time period at issue in lawsuit, defendants need only demonstrate connection or association between act in question and federal officer. Also, while plaintiffs have raised question about whether defendants’ pollution flowed from their specific wartime production for federal government or from their more general manufacturing operations outside those confines, removal was still proper as long as government contractor defense applied to some of plaintiffs’ claims that pertained to defendants’ wartime activities.