Opinion ID: 884188
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Scope of FIFRA Preemption

Text: Under the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, the laws of the United States arethe supreme Law of the Land. U.S. Const., art. VI, cl. 2. Thus, where a state law or constitution conflicts with federal law or where it is the clear and manifest intent of Congress, state law is preempted. Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc. (1992), 505 U.S. 504, 112 S.Ct. 2608, 120 L.Ed.2d 407. Congressional intent to preempt may be found in the express language of the statute or where federal law so occupies an entire field as to make reasonable the inference that Congress left no room for the States to supplement it. Cipollone, 505 U.S. at 516, 112 S.Ct. at 2617 (quoting Fidelity Federal Sav. & Loan Assn. v. de la Cuesta (1982), 458 U.S. 141, 153, 102 S.Ct. 3014, 3022, 73 L.Ed.2d 664, 675). When first enacted in 1947, FIFRA was primarily a licensing and labeling statute. Wisconsin Public Intervenor v. Mortier (1991), 501 U.S. 597, 111 S.Ct. 2476, 115 L.Ed.2d 532. In 1972, FIFRA was substantially amended by the Federal Environmental Pesticide Control Act and currently provides a comprehensive scheme for regulation of the use, sale, and labeling of pesticides. See 7 U.S.C. §§ 136-136y. The section at issue here, 7 U.S.C. § 136v, states: (a) A State may regulate the sale or use of any federally registered pesticide or device in the State, but only if and to the extent the regulation does not permit any sale or use prohibited by this subchapter. (b) Such State shall not impose or continue in effect any requirements for labeling or packaging in addition to or different from those required under this subchapter. The congressional intent to preempt is clearly found in the express language of § 136v and, thus, need not be inferred. However, FIFRA still leaves open a substantial portion of the field of pesticide regulation. Mortier, 501 U.S. at 613, 111 S.Ct. at 2486. In this case, while the parties agree that this statute preempts state law claims based exclusively on omissions or inclusions in the product label, they dispute whether Appellants have, in fact, pled claims that extend beyond the scope of this FIFRA preemption. In Cipollone, 505 U.S. at 504, 112 S.Ct. at 2608, the Supreme Court addressed a nearly identical preemption question in the context of cigarette labeling regulation. Rose Cipollone began smoking in 1942 and died of lung cancer in 1984. Cipollone, 505 U.S. at 508, 112 S.Ct. at 2613. The plaintiff, Rose's son, claimed that the Liggett Group caused his mother's death by failing to provide adequate warnings on its cigarettes and by misrepresenting the dangers of smoking to the public. Cipollone, 505 U.S. at 508, 112 S.Ct. at 2613. The Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act of 1969 states that [n]o requirement or prohibition based on smoking and health shall be imposed under State law with respect to the advertising or promotion of any cigarettes the packages of which are labeled in conformity with the provisions of this chapter. 15 U.S.C. § 1334. The Supreme Court held that the phrase requirement or prohibition included state common law damage actions as well as positive legislative or administrative enactments. Cipollone, 505 U.S. at 522, 112 S.Ct. at 2620. The Court went on to consider whether the plaintiff's claims were within the domain expressly preempted by 15 U.S.C. § 1334. Cipollone, 505 U.S. at 523, 112 S.Ct. at 2621. The plaintiff had alleged two claims based on failure to warn: 1) that Liggett Group was negligent in the manner of testing, researching, selling, promoting, and advertising its cigarettes; 2) that Liggett Group failed to provide adequate warnings of the health consequences of cigarette smoking. Cipollone, 505 U.S. at 524, 112 S.Ct. at 2621. The Court held: insofar as claims under either failure to warn theory require a showing that [Liggett Group's] advertising or promotions should have included additional, or more clearly stated, warnings, those claims are preempted. The Act does not, however, pre-empt petitioner's claims that rely solely on respondents' testing or research practices or other actions unrelated to advertising or promotion. Cipollone, 505 U.S. at 524, 112 S.Ct. at 2621. The plaintiff had also alleged a breach of warranty claim, based largely on statements in the Liggett Group's cigarette advertisements. The Court held that the common law remedy for breach of a voluntary, contractual commitment should not be regarded as a requirement imposed under state law. Cipollone, 505 U.S. at 526, 112 S.Ct. at 2622. Thus, the Court held that plaintiff's claims based on breach of warranties found in the cigarette advertisements were not preempted. Cipollone, 505 U.S. at 526-27, 112 S.Ct. at 2622-23. All of the circuit courts, and several state supreme courts, that have considered the effect of FIFRA's preemption clause have concluded that it should be given the same effect as the preemption clause interpreted in Cipollone. See, e.g., Taylor AG Indus. v. Pure-Gro (9th Cir.1995), 54 F.3d 555; Welchert v. American Cyanamid, Inc. (8th Cir. 1995), 59 F.3d 69; Worm v. American Cyanamid Co. (4th Cir.1993), 5 F.3d 744; Shaw v. Dow Brands, Inc. (7th Cir.1993), 994 F.2d 364; Clubine v. American Cyanamid Co. (Iowa 1995), 534 N.W.2d 385; Quest Chemical Corp. v. Elam (Texas 1995), 898 S.W.2d 819; Hue v. Farmboy Spray Co., Inc. (1995), 127 Wash.2d 67, 896 P.2d 682. Further, in vacating the judgments of two circuit courts that held that FIFRA impliedly preempted state law claims based on failure to warn, the U.S. Supreme Court remanded, asking those courts to reconsider in light of its decision in Cipollone. See Arkansas-Platte & Gulf Partnership v. Dow Chemical Co. (1992), 506 U.S. 910, 113 S.Ct. 314, 121 L.Ed.2d 235; Papas v. Zoecon Corp. (1992), 505 U.S. 1215, 112 S.Ct. 3020, 120 L.Ed.2d 892. Thus, for purposes of determining the scope of FIFRA preemption, Cipollone provides the appropriate framework for our analysis. Under FIFRA, a State shall not impose or continue in effect any requirements for labeling or packaging in addition to or different from those required under this subchapter. 7 U.S.C. § 136v(b). We determine that, as in the cigarette labeling statute,the phrase requirement in 7 U.S.C. § 136v(b) includes state common law damage actions. Therefore, FIFRA preempts state tort claims to the extent they arise from an omission or inclusion in the product's label. Claims alleging a product, manufacturing or design defect, claims alleging negligent design, testing or manufacturing, or claims alleging breach of warranty that do not rely on such an omission or inclusion in the product's label are not preempted. Thus, the issue before this Court is whether the Appellants have in fact made allegations in their amended complaint that support nonpreempted claims of the type listed above.