Opinion ID: 3050468
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: introduction

Text: These consolidated appeals arise from fourteen plaintiffs’ negligence claims under California common law against various airlines (collectively “the Airlines” or “AirlineDefendants”) for failing to warn about the danger of developing deep vein thrombosis and for providing an unsafe seating configuration on domestic flights. This case presents the question of whether and to what extent the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (the “FAA”), 49 U.S.C. § 40103, and its corresponding regulations promulgated by the Federal Aviation Administration regarding aviation safety, preempt state law standards of care, including any state-imposed duty to warn about the risks of deep vein thrombosis (“DVT”). We also address whether Plaintiffs may recover for injuries sustained due to an allegedly unsafe seating configuration or whether such claims are preempted by the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 (the “ADA”), an economic measure designed by Congress to prevent states from regulating airline prices, routes, and services. See 49 U.S.C. 14746 MONTALVO v. SPIRIT AIRLINES § 41713(b)(1) (previously codified at 49 U.S.C. app. § 1305(a)(1)). The district court found federal preemption in both instances. It held that the FAA impliedly preempts the field of preflight warnings, and the court dismissed Plaintiffs’ failure to warn claim as a matter of law. In re Deep Vein Thrombosis Litig., No. 04-1606, 2005 WL 591241, at ,  (N.D. Cal. March 11, 2005). It observed that Congress’ intent in passing the FAA was to preempt the entire field of air safety. It also rested its dismissal on the conflict between federal safety standards governing passenger warnings and any state-imposed duty to warn. The district court further held that the ADA preempts Plaintiffs’ unsafe seating configuration claim, because any seating reconfiguration would impermissibly affect airline prices. Id. We affirm the district court’s dismissal of the failure to warn claim, but remand the seating configuration claim for further factual development. The FAA and the relevant federal regulations preempt Plaintiffs’ failure to warn claim, because the FAA preempts the entire field of aviation safety through implied field preemption. The FAA and regulations promulgated pursuant to it establish complete and thorough safety standards for air travel, which are not subject to supplementation by, or variation among, state laws. Some circuits have considered whether federal law preempts discrete aspects of air safety. See, e.g. French v. Pan Am Express, Inc., 869 F.2d 1, 6-7 (1st Cir. 1989) (holding that the FAA governs issues of pilot suitability, including submission to drug testing). The Third Circuit has gone one step further. See Abdullah v. American Airlines, Inc., 181 F.3d 363, 367-68 (3d Cir. 1999). We adopt the Third Circuit’s broad, historical approach to hold that federal law generally establishes the applicable standards of care in the field of aviation safety. Id.; cf. Witty v. Delta Airlines, 366 F.3d 380, 384-86 (5th Cir. 2004). Because the FAA preempts the entire field of aviation safety from state and territorial regulation, the Airlines are MONTALVO v. SPIRIT AIRLINES 14747 under no obligation to warn of the risk of developing DVT, absent a federal mandate to do so. Because there are no federal regulations requiring the Airlines to warn about the risks of DVT, we affirm the district court’s dismissal of Plaintiffs’ failure to warn claim. The Airlines’ preemption argument on the seating configuration claim presents a closer question. The Airlines argue that any reconfiguration of airplane seating would decrease the number of seats and thus require a significant increase in ticket prices to offset the loss in revenue. They assert that triggering this increase would amount to an indirect regulation of airline fares, which is precluded by the ADA. While the Airlines may ultimately be correct, we remand this claim to the district court for further development, because on the basis of the record before us, there is an insufficient factual basis on which to conclude that any seat reconfiguration would have what the Supreme Court has described as the “forbidden significant effect” on airline ticket prices. See Morales v. Trans World Airlines, Inc., 504 U.S. 374, 388 (1992).