Opinion ID: 4204188
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Key Provisions

Text: Today the Price-Anderson Act provides for the removal to federal court of any “public liability action arising out of or resulting from a nuclear incident.” 42 U.S.C. § 2210(n). As the District Court commented, this “would seem to be a peculiar way to describe a case alleging that a researcher was injured while working on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania,” Ware v. Hosp. of the Univ. of Pennsylvania, No. 2:14-CV-00014, 2016 WL 4702117, at  (E.D. Pa. Sept. 8, 2016), but any peculiarity simply derives from Congress’ slow expansion of the Act’s statutory definitions to bring a growing set of matters within its scope. 11 In essence, the Act provides federal jurisdiction over claims asserting legal liability for “any occurrence” causing physical harm or property damage resulting from the radioactive properties of nuclear material. 42 U.S.C. §§ 2014(q), (w), (hh) & 2210(n)(2). However, because its definitions are complicated, interlocking, and use words in unintuitive ways, it is worth pausing to consider the Act’s key provisions. Section 2210(n)(2) contains the jurisdictional grant: With respect to any public liability action arising out of or resulting from a nuclear incident, the United States district court in the district where the nuclear incident takes place . . . shall have original jurisdiction without regard to the citizenship of any party or the amount in controversy. That grant, in turn, depends on the definitions of “public liability action” and “nuclear incident.” A “public liability action” is simply “any suit asserting public liability.” Id. § 2014(hh).5 And “public liability” means (apart from 5 Under the Price-Anderson Act “the substantive rules for decision in [a public liability] action shall be derived from the law of the State in which the nuclear incident involved occurs, unless such law is inconsistent with the provisions of [the Act].” 42 U.S.C. § 2014(hh). That is, although (1) the case proceeds in federal court, (2) the cause of action is itself federal, and (3) certain state-law defenses may not be raised, see 42 U.S.C. §§ 2014(hh) & 2210(n)(1), state law nonetheless will provide the elements of any public liability action except to the extent that a provision of the Act requires something different. 12 certain exceptions not relevant here) “any legal liability arising out of or resulting from a nuclear incident or precautionary evacuation.” Id. § 2014(w). That brings us to “nuclear incident”: The term “nuclear incident” means any occurrence, including an extraordinary nuclear occurrence, . . . causing . . . bodily injury, sickness, disease, or death, or loss of or damage to property, or loss of use of property, arising out of or resulting from the radioactive, toxic, explosive, or other hazardous properties of source, special nuclear, or byproduct material[.] Id. § 2014(q). This definition of “nuclear incident” is facially quite broad, and, because the definitions above all rely on it, the Price-Anderson Act’s jurisdictional grant is also broad.