Source: https://m.openjurist.org/537/us/51/sprietsma-administrator-of-the-estate-of-sprietsma-deceased-v-mercury-marine-a-division-of-brunswick
Timestamp: 2019-11-12 01:45:43
Document Index: 696640018

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 10', '§ 10', '§ 10', '§ 2', '§ 4302', '§ 1', '§ 33', '§ 13110', '§ 13110', '§ 4305', '§ 10', '§ 4306', '§4311', '§ 10', '§ 10', '§ 4302', '§ 4311']

537 US 51 Sprietsma Administrator of the Estate of Sprietsma Deceased v. Mercury Marine a Division of Brunswick Corp | OpenJurist
537 U.S. 51 - Sprietsma Administrator of the Estate of Sprietsma Deceased v. Mercury Marine a Division of Brunswick Corp
537 US 51 Sprietsma Administrator of the Estate of Sprietsma Deceased v. Mercury Marine a Division of Brunswick Corp
537 U.S. 51
SPRIETSMA, ADMINISTRATOR OF THE ESTATE OF SPRIETSMA, DECEASED
(b) The FBSA does not expressly pre-empt petitioner's common-law tort claims. Section 10's express pre-emption clause—which applies to "a [state or local] law or regulation"—is most naturally read as not encompassing common-law claims for two reasons. First, the article "a" implies a discreteness that is not present in common law. Second, because "a word is known by the company it keeps," Gustafson v. Alloyd Co., 513 U. S. 561, 575, the terms "law" and "regulation" used together indicate that Congress only pre-empted positive enactments. The Act's saving clause buttresses this conclusion. It assumes that there are some significant number of common-law liability cases to save, and § 10's language permits a narrow reading excluding common-law actions. See Geier v. American Honda Motor Co., 529 U. S. 861, 868. And the contrast between its general reference to "liability at common law" and § 10's more specific and detailed description of what is pre-empted—including an exception for state regulations addressing "uniquely hazardous conditions"—indicates that § 10 was drafted to pre-empt performance standards and equipment requirements imposed by statute or regulation. This interpretation does not produce anomalous results. It would have been perfectly rational for Congress not to pre-empt common-law claims, which necessarily perform an important remedial role in compensating accident victims. Pp. 62-64.
Leslie A. Brueckner argued the cause for petitioner. With her on the briefs were Arthur H. Bryant, Joseph A. Power, Jr., and Todd A. Smith.
Stephen M. Shapiro argued the cause for respondent. With him on the brief were Steffen N. Johnson, Michael W. McConnell, Kenneth S. Geller, Timothy S. Bishop, and Daniel J. Connolly.*
* On July 10, 1995, petitioner's wife, Jeanne Sprietsma, died as a result of a boating accident on an inland lake that spans the Kentucky-Tennessee border. She was riding in an 18-foot ski boat equipped with a 115-horsepower outboard motor manufactured by respondent, Mercury Marine, which is a division of the Brunswick Corporation (Brunswick). Apparently when the boat turned, she fell overboard and was struck by the propeller, suffering fatal injuries.
Petitioner filed a nine-count complaint in an Illinois court1 seeking damages from Brunswick on state-law theories. Each count alleged that Brunswick had manufactured an unreasonably dangerous product because, among other things, the motor was not protected by a propeller guard.2 The trial court granted respondent's motion to dismiss, and the intermediate appellate court affirmed on the ground that the action was expressly pre-empted by the FBSA. 312 Ill. App. 3d 1040, 729 N. E. 2d 45 (2000). Relying on our intervening decision in Geier v. American Honda Motor Co., 529 U. S. 861 (2000), the Illinois Supreme Court rejected the appellate court's express pre-emption rationale, but affirmed on implied pre-emption grounds. 197 Ill. 2d 112, 757 N. E. 2d 75 (2001). The court's decision added to a split of authority on this precise issue arising from lawsuits against, among a few others, this particular respondent and its corporate subsidiaries.3
The accident statistics compiled by the States presumably were instrumental in persuading the 1971 Congress that additional federal legislation was necessary.5 In its statement of purposes, the FBSA recites that it was enacted "to improve boating safety," to authorize "the establishment of national construction and performance standards for boats and associated equipment," and to encourage greater "uniformity of boating laws and regulations as among the several States and the Federal Government." Pub. L. 92-75, § 2, 85 Stat. 213-214. Three of the provisions implementing these goals are particularly relevant to this case.
Section 5 of the FBSA, as amended and codified in 46 U. S. C. § 4302, authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to issue regulations establishing "minimum safety standards for recreational vessels and associated equipment," and requiring the installation or use of such equipment.6 The Secretary has delegated this authority to the Coast Guard. See 49 CFR § 1.46(n)(1) (1997). Before exercising that authority, the Coast Guard must consider certain factors, such as the extent to which the proposed regulation will contribute to boating safety, and must consult with a special National Boating Safety Advisory Council appointed pursuant to § 33 of the Act, 46 U. S. C. § 13110.7 The Advisory Council consists of 21 members, 7 representatives from each of three different groups: (1) "State officials responsible for State boating safety programs," (2) boat and equipment manufacturers, and (3) "national recreational boating organizations and . . . the general public." § 13110(b). The Coast Guard may also issue exemptions from its regulations if it determines that boating safety "will not be adversely affected." § 4305.
In the years since, the Coast Guard has promulgated a host of detailed regulations. Some prescribe the use of specified equipment, such as personal flotation devices and visual distress signals, 33 CFR pts. 175(B), (C) (2001), and certain procedures, such as compliance labeling by manufacturers and prompt accident reporting by operators, pts. 181(B), 173(C). See generally pts. 173-181. Other regulations impose precise standards governing the design and manufacture of boats themselves and of associated equipment, such as electrical and fuel systems, ventilation, and "start-in-gear protection" devices. Pt. 183; cf. Chao v. Mallard Bay Drilling, Inc., 534 U. S. 235, 242 (2002) ("Congress has assigned a broad and important mission to the Coast Guard. . . . [T]he Coast Guard possesses authority to promulgate and enforce regulations promoting the safety of vessels . . .").
Because the FBSA contains an express pre-emption clause, our "task of statutory construction must in the first instance focus on the plain wording of the clause, which necessarily contains the best evidence of Congress' pre-emptive intent." CSX Transp., Inc. v. Easterwood, 507 U. S. 658, 664 (1993). Here, the express pre-emption clause in § 10 applies to "a [state or local] law or regulation." 46 U. S. C. § 4306. We think that this language is most naturally read as not encompassing common-law claims for two reasons. First, the article "a" before "law or regulation" implies a discreteness—which is embodied in statutes and regulations—that is not present in the common law. Second, because "a word is known by the company it keeps," Gustafson v. Alloyd Co., 513 U. S. 561, 575 (1995), the terms "law" and "regulation" used together in the pre-emption clause indicate that Congress pre-empted only positive enactments. If "law" were read broadly so as to include the common law, it might also be interpreted to include regulations, which would render the express reference to "regulation" in the pre-emption clause superfluous.
The Act's saving clause buttresses this conclusion. See Geier v. American Honda Motor Co., 529 U. S., at 867-868. It states that "[c]ompliance with this chapter or standards, regulations, or orders prescribed under this chapter does not relieve a person from liability at common law or under State law." §4311(g). As we held in Geier, the "saving clause assumes that there are some significant number of commonlaw liability cases to save [and t]he language of the preemption provision permits a narrow reading that excludes common-law actions." Id., at 868.
The saving clause is also relevant for an independent reason. The contrast between its general reference to "liability at common law" and the more specific and detailed description of what is pre-empted by § 10—including the exception for state regulations addressing "uniquely hazardous conditions"—indicates that § 10 was drafted to pre-empt performance standards and equipment requirements imposed by statute or regulation.
Our interpretation of the statute's language does not produce anomalous results. It would have been perfectly rational for Congress not to pre-empt common-law claims, which—unlike most administrative and legislative regulations—necessarily perform an important remedial role in compensating accident victims. Cf. Silkwood v. Kerr-McGee Corp., 464 U. S. 238, 251 (1984). Indeed, compensation is the manifest object of the saving clause, which focuses not on state authority to regulate, but on preserving "liability at common law or under State law." In context, this phrase surely refers to private damages remedies.10 We thus agree with the Illinois Supreme Court's conclusion that petitioner's common-law tort claims are not expressly pre-empted by the FBSA.
The Coast Guard's decision not to impose a propeller guard requirement presents a sharp contrast to the decision of the Secretary of Transportation that was given pre-emptive effect in Geier v. American Honda Motor Co., 529 U. S. 861 (2000). As the Solicitor General had argued in that case, the promulgation of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208 embodied an affirmative "policy judgment that safety would best be promoted if manufacturers installed alternative protection systems in their fleets rather than one particular system in every car." Id., at 881. In finding pre-emption, we expressly placed "weight upon the DOT's interpretation of FMVSS 208's objectives and its conclusion, as set forth in the Government's brief, that a tort suit such as this one would `"`stan[d] as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution'"' of those objectives . . . . Congress has delegated to DOT authority to implement the statute; the subject matter is technical; and the relevant history and background are complex and extensive. The agency is likely to have a thorough understanding of its own regulation and its objectives and is `uniquely qualified' to comprehend the likely impact of state requirements." Id., at 883. In the case before us today, the Solicitor General, joined by counsel for the Coast Guard, has informed us that the agency does not view the 1990 refusal to regulate or any subsequent regulatory actions by the Coast Guard as having any pre-emptive effect. Our reasoning in Geier therefore provides strong support for petitioner's submission.
In Ray v. Atlantic Richfield Co., 435 U. S. 151 (1978), we considered a federal statute that directed the Secretary of Transportation to determine "which oil tankers are sufficiently safe to be allowed to proceed in the navigable waters of the United States," and after inspection to certify "each vessel as sufficiently safe to protect the marine environment." Id., at 163, 165. We held that this scheme of mandatory federal regulation implicitly pre-empted the power of the State of Washington "to exclude from Puget Sound vessels certified by the Secretary as having acceptable design characteristics, unless they satisfy the different and higher design requirements imposed by state law." Id., at 165. As we explained in United States v. Locke, 529 U.S. 89 (2000), the analysis in Ray was governed by field-pre-emption rules because the rules at issue were in a "field reserved for federal regulation" and "Congress ha[d] left no room for state regulation of these matters." 529 U. S., at 111. In particular, Title II of the Ports and Waterways Safety Act of 1972 (PWSA) required the Secretary to issue "such rules and regulations as may be necessary with respect to the design, construction, and operation of the covered vessels." 435 U. S., at 161.
Briefs ofamici curiae urging reversal were filed for the State of Missouri et al. by Jeremiah W. (Jay) Nixon, Attorney General of Missouri, James R. Layton, State Solicitor, and Charles W. Hatfield, and by the Attorneys General for their respective States as follows: Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Bill Lockyer of California, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Robert A. Butterworth of Florida, Earl I. Anzai of Hawaii, Steve Carter of Indiana, J. Joseph Curran, Jr., of Maryland, Mike McGrath of Montana, Frankie Sue Del Papa of Nevada, Philip T. McLaughlin of New Hampshire, Patricia Madrid of New Mexico, Roy Cooper of North Carolina, Hardy Myers of Oregon, Mark L. Shurtleff of Utah, Christine O. Gregoire of Washington, and Darrell V. McGraw, Jr., of West Virginia; and for the Association of Trial Lawyers of America by Ross Diamond III and Jeffrey Robert White.
The complaint alleges that the Sprietsmas and the owners of the boat were residents of Illinois and that the boat had been purchased in Illinois. App. 101
CompareLewis v. Brunswick Corp., 107 F. 3d 1494 (CA11) (finding implied pre-emption under the FBSA), cert. granted, 522 U. S. 978 (1997), cert. dismissed, 523 U. S. 1113 (1998); Carstensen v. Brunswick Corp., 49 F. 3d 430 (CA8) (finding express pre-emption under the FBSA), cert. denied, 516 U. S. 866 (1995); and Ryan v. Brunswick Corp., 454 Mich. 20, 557 N. W. 2d 541 (1997) (finding express pre-emption under the FBSA), with Moore v. Brunswick Bowling & Billiards Corp., 889 S. W. 2d 246 (Tex.) (holding that federal law did not pre-empt state law in this context), cert. denied sub nom. Vivian Industrial Plastics, Inc. v. Moore, 513 U. S. 1057 (1994). See also Lady v. Neal Glaser Marine, Inc., 228 F. 3d 598 (CA5 2000) (holding that common-law claims based on the manufacturer's failure to provide a propeller guard were impliedly pre-empted by the FBSA; Outboard Marine, the successor to Neal Glaser Marine, declared bankruptcy shortly after the petition for certiorari was filed), cert. denied sub nom. Lady v. Outboard Marine Corp., 532 U. S. 941 (2001).
Brunswick has asserted that federal maritime law governs this case. Because this argument was not raised below, it is waived
The Senate Report on the 1971 Act observed that approximately 40 million Americans engaged in recreational boating activities every year, and that nearly 7,000 persons had died in boating accidents during the preceding 5-year period. S. Rep. No. 92-248, pp. 6-7 (1971) (hereinafter S. Rep.). The Report added: "It seems apparent that the annual loss of life is of sufficiently alarming proportion that the Federal Government should require products involved to be built to standards of safety commensurate with the risks associated with their use. Similar federal legislation exists with regard to other products, including aircraft and motor vehicles. Also, safety standards and requirements for certain categories of larger commercial vessels have existed for many years."Id., at 13.
Title 46 U. S. C. § 4302 provides:
"In prescribing regulations under this section, the Secretary shall, among other things—
Between 1976 and 1990, the Coast Guard officially reported about 100 propeller-strike injuries in the United States per year. App. inLewis v. Brunswick, O. T. 1997, No. 97-288, p. 170. A 1992 study by members of the Johns Hopkins University Injury Prevention Center and the Institute for Injury Reduction concluded that, when adjusted for underreporting, "the true number of propeller injuries and fatalities may be closer to ... 2,000-3,000 per year." Id., at 199.
The FBSA itself imposes civil money penalties payable to the United States, as well as imprisonment for willful violations, 46 U. S. C. § 4311, but does not authorize any private damages remedies for persons injured by noncomplying operators, boats, or equipment
Indeed, in response to the Propeller Guard Subcommittee's recommendation in favor of "educational and awareness campaigns," the Coast Guard indicated that it would publish a series of articles "aimed at avoiding boat/propeller strike accidents," which could include the topic of "available propeller guards." App. 82-83