Opinion ID: 884188
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Claims Set Forth in Appellants' Amended Complaint

Text: The District Court found that Appellants' negligence claim was based solely on the insufficiency of Weedone LV6's label. The District Court held that despite Appellants' characterization of their claims as negligent formulation, manufacture, and design, the essence of the claim is still that Defendants designed, manufactured and sold a product in Montana which it should not have, despite the fact that the product and product label received EPA approval prior to its entry into the stream of commerce. In so holding, the court cited Appellants' response to an interrogatory propounded them by Ben Taylor, which asked them to set forth the basis for each of their claims: We believe the evidence will show that the application instructions and label for the defendants' product do not specifically advise of the risk or consequences to treated crops caused by the onset of cool or cold weather before and after application. Further, that defendants knew that the product would be used in northern Montana where there is a substantial likelihood of cool or cold weather occurring in May and June when spring wheat and barley reach the appropriate stage for application, and that its use under those conditions created an unreasonable risk of substantial damage and regardless defendants marketed the product to plaintiffs. Defendants knew that plaintiffs would rely on the representations contained in their advertising, the statements of their dealers and the product label in purchasing and using the product. Defendants knew or should have known that such representations were incorrect, inadequate and misleading. Plaintiffs did in fact rely on those incorrect, inadequate and misleading representations in purchasing and using the product and were damaged as a result. Appellants argue that the District Court erred by looking only to one interrogatory response and by ascribing an overly narrow reading to the language of their amended complaint, which they argue clearly alleges that the product is defective regardless of its labeling. Whether or not the District Court overstated the importance of Appellants' interrogatory response, it correctly found that the negligence claim set forth in Appellants' amended complaint was based solely on the insufficient warning contained in Weedone LV6's label. In the first count of their amended complaint, Appellants claim that Rhône-Poulenc and Ben Taylor had a duty to warn or advise them of the potential risks posed by Weedone LV6. Appellants argue that in selling and advertising Weedone LV6 in Sunburst, Montana, Rhône-Poulenc and Ben Taylor should have known that any farmer who applied Weedone LV6 according to the directions would apply it in May and June, months in which cool or cold temperatures are common. Thus, Appellants contend that Rhône-Poulenc and Ben Taylor owed a duty to [Appellants] to advise them of the substantial risk of harm which would occur if cool or cold temperatures occurred after application of Weedone LV6 to their small grain crops; and their failure to perform that duty constitutes negligence. The only theory of negligence set forth in Appellants' amended complaint is premised on Rhône-Poulenc and Ben Taylor's and failure to warn adequately of the harm that could result from using Weedone LV6. To succeed under this theory of negligence, Appellants would be required to show that Weedone LV6's label was deficient; that is, that Ben Taylor and Rhône-Poulenc should have included additional, or more clearly stated, warnings.... Cipollone, 505 U.S. at 524, 112 S.Ct. at 2621. Such claims are preempted by FIFRA. We affirm the District Court's grant of summary judgment in favor of Ben Taylor and Rhône-Poulenc on Appellants' negligence claims.
The Appellants claim that an agent of Ben Taylor represented to them that Weedone LV6, if applied as directed, would control the weeds in their spring wheat and barley. Appellants argue that their crop damage was caused by the product's failure to serve the purpose for which it was intended and that such failure was due to a mistake or deficiency in the design, formula, plan and specification of the product. FIFRA does not preempt breach of warranty claims that fall outside the scope of the manufacturer's label. Cipollone, 505 U.S. at 526, 112 S.Ct. at 2622; Taylor AG Indus., 54 F.3d at 563. Here, Appellants' amended complaint alleges that Rhône-Poulenc and Ben Taylor breached their warranty by designing, manufacturing, and marketing a product that was inherently defective. The District Court found, as a matter of law, that they had not stated a claim for which relief can be granted. However, the pleadings clearly state claims that are unrelated to the product's label. For example, Appellants claim that when they purchased Weedone LV6, an agent of Ben Taylor represented the product to be of such nature as to control the weeds in [their] fields, and that the product failed to do so. Therefore, to the extent they do not rely on representations made in the product label and to the extent they actually allege breach of warranty, Appellants' claims for breach of express and implied warranty are not preempted.
Under strict liability, Appellants allege that they suffered damage as a result of Rhône-Poulenc and Ben Taylor's failure to warn that Weedone LV6 could damage crops if applied in cool weather. Again, to the extent Appellants' claims rely on the insufficiency of the product label, they are preempted. However, Appellants also incorporate by reference the claims set forth under breach of warranty; i.e., that the failure of Weedone LV6 was due to a mistake or deficiency in the design, formula, plan and specifications of the product. Appellants also claim that they suffered damage to their property as a result of the unreasonably dangerous product sold them by Defendants and that Defendants are strictly liable for that damage. In its order dismissing all of Appellants' claims, the District Court noted that, in registering Weedone LV6 and approving its label, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had necessarily concluded that the product, its testing, and its labeling were reasonable and appropriate when the product was used in accordance with widespread and commonly recognized practice. However, as the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized, EPA approval of a pesticide does not necessarily indicate approval for application in all locations and in all climates: FIFRA nonetheless leaves substantial portions of the field vacant, including the area at issue in this case. FIFRA nowhere seeks to establish an affirmative permit scheme for the actual use of pesticides. It certainly does not equate registration and labeling requirements with a general approval to apply pesticides throughout the Nation without regard to regional and local factors like climate, population, geography, and water supply. Whatever else FIFRA may supplant, it does not occupy the field of pesticide regulation in general or the area of local use permitting in particular. Mortier, 501 U.S. at 613-14, 111 S.Ct. at 2486. We conclude, likewise, that FIFRA does not supplant state tort law in protecting persons or property from damages resulting from the application of pesticides. Compliance with FIFRA does not exempt pesticide manufacturers and distributors from their duties to avoid marketing products with manufacturing defects or to use demonstrably safer designs for products. Thus, Appellants must be given the opportunity to prove that Rhône-Poulenc and Ben Taylor are strictly liable for designing, manufacturing, and marketing an unreasonably dangerous product. Such claims do not fall within FIFRA's preemptive scope. Rhône-Poulenc also argues that, to the extent Appellants have pled claims unrelated to the insufficiency of the product's label, they did not offer the District Court any evidence to defeat summary judgment on such claims. While we agree that the record before us does not contain facts sufficient to defeat summary judgment, Appellants have not been given the opportunity to conduct thorough discovery. For example, in response to several of Appellants' written interrogatories, Rhône-Poulenc refused to answer, concluding that [Appellants'] claims are preempted under federal law. Rhône-Poulenc then sought summary judgment on the legal issue of FIFRA preemption. In granting summary judgment, the District Court did not address any of the factual merits of Appellants' claims, but ruled solely as a matter of law that all claims were preempted. We determine that the District Court's grant of summary judgment foreclosed Appellants' opportunity to obtain complete discovery. Until Appellants have completed their discovery, it would be premature for us to conclude that their evidence is insufficient. Based on the foregoing, we affirm the District Court's holding that the claims of negligence set forth in Appellants' amended complaint are preempted by FIFRA. However, we reverse and remand to allow Appellants to go forward with their claims of breach of warranty and strict liability to the extent they do not rely on representations made in the product's label. Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. TURNAGE, C.J., and NELSON, REGNIER, TRIEWEILER, HUNT and GRAY, JJ., concur.