Source: http://wombledistributionlaw.blogspot.com/2008/02/
Timestamp: 2019-04-24 10:34:27+00:00

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As previously mentioned in this blog, there are several high profile preemption cases pending before the Supreme Court this term. Yesterday, the Supreme Court decided three of them -- all in favor of federal preemption of state laws.
In Rowe v. New Hampshire Motor Transport Association, the Court held that Maine's Tobacco Delivery Law (which required carriers to verify that the recipients of tobacco shipments were not minors) was preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act (which prohibits states from regulating prices, routes or services of shipping companies).
In Preston v. Ferrer, the Court held that the Federal Arbitration Act preempted a California law that required an administrative hearing prior to arbitration.
And in Riegel v. Medtronic, the Court found that the Medical Devices Amendment (MDA) preempted state common law tort claims that would impose different or additional requirements than those approved by the FDA.
designed or labeled medical devices" that was never intended by the Congress.
be the subject of much debate and litigation.
These case will likely have an impact on preemption analysis far beyond medical devices, tobacco sales, and arbitration. Several preemption cases remain to be decided this term.
Unintended Consequences Of Leegin: No Antitrust Exemption For Baseball?
FTC Commissioner Pamela Jones Harbour wrote an interesting article about the collateral fallout of the Supreme Court's decision in Leegin. As explained here and (in more depth) here, the Leegin Court held that minimum vertical price fixing is not per se illegal, thus reversing the long-standing decision in Dr. Miles.
exemption of major league baseball from the reach of the antitrust laws.
of state action and constitutional issues percolating up to the Court.
The Commissioner's second point is that, given the Leegin Court's "loose regard" for stare decisis and its willingness to discard outdated antitrust cases, baseball's antitrust exemption may be the next case to be overruled. In the 1992 decision Federal Baseball Club of Baltimore, Inc. v. National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, Justice Holmes famously found professional baseball games to be "purely state affairs" not within the jurisdictional of the Sherman Act. Since then the Court's jurisprudence has changed such that, if decided today, the Court would not exempt professional baseball from federal antitrust laws. Although the Court has criticized the baseball exemption and called it an "aberration," the Court has twice reaffirmed Federal Baseball based on stare decisis -- leaving the issue to Congress.
(Coincidentally, lawmakers have argued that the baseball antitrust exemption gives them the right to meddle in the game and, for example, hold hearings on steroid use in baseball).
Commissioner Jones Harbour believes that Leegin may portend a successful assault on the baseball exemption: "If the Court has as loose a regard for the reliance interests of baseball club owners as it had for discount merchant investors in Leegin, stare decisis should not constrain the Court."
Although there is much to debate, both of these points are very interesting. I suspect the second issue is more likely to materialize than the first. Litigants who want to avoid outdated (but still binding) precedent will surely use Leegin to support their arguments.
There was an interesting article (State, Federal Powers Collide) in the Wall Street Journal last week about federal agencies enacting new rules that preempt state law. The article explained: "These new initiatives, largely applauded by business interests, affect products including drugs, autos and passenger railcars." Generally speaking, companies prefer a single federal standard to a "patchwork" of differing state guidelines. Additionally, federal preemption can be a defense against state law tort claims.
--An effort by the EPA to block California and other states from regulating carbon-dioxide emissions.
--A decision by the Consumer Product Safety Commission that its rules on mattress flammability preempt state laws.
--A rule by the FDA regarding warning labels on drugs.
--A Federal Railroad Administration rule that would strengthen safety standards for commuter trains and includes language that preempts efforts by states.
The article failed to mention the preemption issue surrounding the federal Do-Not-Call registry, which I wrote about here.
The article also notes that "the[se] regulatory moves may be trumped by the Supreme Court, which is set to rule on a series of cases related to preemption in the next year or two."
Presumably, the article is referring to Reigel v. Medtronic, Wyeth v. Levine, and Phillip Morris v. Good. The Supreme Court heard oral argument in Reigel on December 4, 2007. This issue is whether the Medical Devices Act preempts state tort claims involving PMA devices. In Wyeth, the Supreme Court is reviewing a Vermont Supreme Court decision involving preemption of state law failure-to-warn claims for prescription drugs. And Phillip Morris involves the interaction of federal and state laws governing the labeling and advertising of cigarettes.
Over the last several years, the Supreme Court heard and decided many important antitrust cases (which were discussed and followed on this blog). Perhaps this will be a big year for preemption jurisprudence.
Identical versions of the Do Not Call Improvement Act have passed both the House (H.R. 3541) and Senate (S. 2096). The Act eliminates the need for consumers to re-register their numbers on the Do Not Call registry. When the Do Not Call program was first established in 2003, consumers could list their phone numbers for a five-year period after which they were required to re-register. In October, the FTC suspended the deletion of expired numbers pending Congressional action.
To read about a tricky preemption issue involving the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the Do Not Call program, click here.

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