ELR Citation: 43 ELR 20091
No(s). 12-14926 (11th Cir. Apr 16, 2013)

The Eleventh Circuit, in an unpublished opinion, reversed and remanded a lower court decision dismissing a company's cost recovery action under CERCLA for failure to state a claim. The lower court granted the motion to dismiss upon a finding that a "no-listing letter" from the Georgia Environmental Protection Division conclusively established that the company could not state a claim for cost recovery because it had not incurred "necessary costs of response" under CERCLA. But the no-listing letter alone should not have been used to conclusively resolve the company's CERCLA claim on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion; it is but one item of evidence the lower court may consider in a merits-based decision at trial or in summary judgment proceedings.