Opinion ID: 2116530
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Heading: The federal preemption doctrine is grounded upon the supremacy clause of the federal constitution:

Text: This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof ... shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding. U.S. Const. art. VI, cl. 2. Preemption may be found where congress' intent to preempt the field is either expressly stated or implicit in congressional policies. Clubine, 534 N.W.2d at 386-87. FIFRA is a comprehensive federal statute regulating pesticide use, sales, and labeling. Schuver, 546 N.W.2d at 612. The EPA is the administrative agency in charge of setting appropriate regulations. Wisconsin Pub. Intervenor v. Mortier, 501 U.S. 597, 601, 111 S.Ct. 2476, 2480, 115 L.Ed.2d 532, 540 (1991). Before a pesticide may be sold, it must be registered and its labeling approved by the EPA. Welchert v. American Cyanamid, Inc., 59 F.3d 69, 71 (8th Cir. 1995). The review process requires an applicant to submit a proposed label to the EPA for approval. Id. This label must address numerous concerns, including the ingredients, directions for use, and adverse effects of the product. Id.; see also 40 C.F.R. §§ 152.50, 156.10 (1997). In addition to the written material on the actual container, the term label also includes written, printed, or graphic material accompanying the container, to which reference is made. Clubine, 534 N.W.2d at 387; see also Welchert, 59 F.3d at 71. FIFRA specifically sets forth the authority the states shall have concerning the labeling of pesticides: (a) In general 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) Uniformity 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. 7 U.S.C. § 136v (1994). It is the preemptive effect of subsection (b) that is at issue in this case. We discussed the preemptive effect of FIFRA on state law claims in Schuver, 546 N.W.2d at 613, and in Clubine, 534 N.W.2d at 387, in which we found that label-based common-law claims were preempted by FIFRA. In both cases we relied heavily on Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc., 505 U.S. 504, 508, 112 S.Ct. 2608, 2613, 120 L.Ed.2d 407, 417 (1992), which involved preemption under the public health cigarette smoking act of 1969. The Cipollone court held the preemption clause of the act barred all state law claims predicated on the labeling required under that act, an act which, although not identical, closely parallels the language of FIFRA. Cipollone, 505 U.S. at 523-24, 112 S.Ct. at 2621, 120 L.Ed.2d at 427. We noted that both failure to warn and labeling-based claims brought as common-law causes of action against manufacturers of pesticides are preempted by § 136v. [2] Schuver, 546 N.W.2d at 613; Clubine, 534 N.W.2d at 387. Other state appellate courts have also held that FIFRA preempts labeling-based common law causes of action. See, e.g., Kawamata Farms, Inc. v. United Agri Prods., 86 Hawai`i 214, 948 P.2d 1055, 1064 (1997); Hottinger v. Trugreen Corp., 665 N.E.2d 593, 598 (Ind.Ct.App.1996); Jenkins v. Amchem Prods., Inc., 256 Kan. 602, 886 P.2d 869, 876 (1994); Hochberg v. Zoecon Corp., 421 Mass. 456, 657 N.E.2d 1263, 1265 (1995); McAlpine v. Rhone-Poulenc Ag. Co., 285 Mont. 224, 947 P.2d 474, 477 (1997); Ackles v. Luttrell, 252 Neb. 273, 561 N.W.2d 573, 577 (1997); Quest Chem. Corp. v. Elam, 898 S.W.2d 819, 821 (Tex.1995); All-Pure Chem. Co. v. White, 127 Wash.2d 1, 896 P.2d 697, 699 (Wash.1995). Ackerman contends the preemptive reach of Cipollone and its progeny has been eroded by the later opinion of Medtronic, Inc. v. Lohr, 518 U.S. 470, 116 S.Ct. 2240, 135 L.Ed.2d 700 (1996). Medtronic holds that certain state common-law claims are not preempted by the federal medical device amendments of 1976. Medtronic, 518 U.S. at 492-95, 116 S.Ct. at 2255-58, 135 L.Ed.2d at 720-21. At first blush Medtronic might seem to be a retreat from the preemptive analysis employed in Cipollone, and followed in Schuver and Clubine. But five cases decided after Medtronic show that it does not alter the law regarding preemption. Four cases expressly hold that Medtronic does not change the preemptive reach of FIFRA. See Hawkins v. Leslie's Poolmart, 965 F.Supp. 566, 571-72 (D.N.J.1997); Ackles, 561 N.W.2d at 579; Lewis v. American Cyanamid Co., 294 N.J.Super. 53, 682 A.2d 724, 730-31 (N.J.Super.Ct.App.Div.1996); Didier v. Drexel Chem. Co., 86 Wash.App. 795, 938 P.2d 364, 367 (Wash.Ct.App.1997). In the fifth case, Grenier v. Vermont Log Buildings, Inc., 96 F.3d 559, 563 (1st Cir.1996), the court held that this claim, whether presented as a negligence claim or a claim for breach of implied warranty, is preempted by FIFRA. Medtronic was cited for two propositions: (1) where congress has included an express preemption clause in the statute, courts must begin their analysis with the language of that provision; and (2) the term requirements presumptively includes state causes of action as well as the laws and regulations. Grenier, 96 F.3d at 563. The court never considered that Medtronic might have impliedly overruled the decisions holding that FIFRA preempts claims based on labeling. Rather the court cited a pre- Medtronic case in support of its holding, and noted that case, unlike Medtronic, involved FIFRA itself. Id. (citing King v. E.I. Du Pont De Nemours & Co., 996 F.2d 1346 (1st Cir.1993)). With the Cipollone holding left intact, our task remains to identify whether Ackerman's claims are predicated upon labeling and packaging requirements in addition to and different from those required by FIFRA. Of course any direct challenge to the adequacy of a label or warning is preempted. We also examine whether a claim is merely another way of alleging the label or warning was inadequate. Such an indirect challenge is also preempted. See Schuver, 546 N.W.2d at 614. But under Cipollone we assume matters outside the realm of the statute's express preemption provision are not preempted. Cipollone, 505 U.S. at 517, 112 S.Ct. at 2618, 120 L.Ed.2d at 423. There is a presumption against preemption which counsels a narrow construction of preemption provisions. Id. at 523, 112 S.Ct. at 2621, 120 L.Ed.2d at 427. In considering whether Ackerman's claims are preempted by FIFRA, we express no opinion on whether they are viable under state law; we assume arguendo that they are. Id. at 524, 112 S.Ct. at 2621, 120 L.Ed.2d at 427.