Burleigh v. Alfa Laval, Inc.

313 F. Supp. 3d 343
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedMay 9, 2018
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 16–11030–RGS
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 313 F. Supp. 3d 343 (Burleigh v. Alfa Laval, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Burleigh v. Alfa Laval, Inc., 313 F. Supp. 3d 343 (D.D.C. 2018).

Opinion

II. Choice of Massachusetts or Maine Law (Wrongful Death Claim)

Where, as here, jurisdiction is based on the federal officer removal statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1442(a)(1) (" section 1442(a)"),12 a federal court adheres to the forum state's choice of law rules to determine the applicable substantive law. See Baird v. Fed. Home Loan Mortg. Corp., Civil Action No. 3:15CV00041, 2016 WL 6583732, at *2 (W.D. Va. Nov. 4, 2016) (" 'federal court's role under § 1442 is similar to that of a federal court sitting in diversity' " with court applying "choice of law rule of the forum state") (citations omitted), aff'd, 706 Fed. Appx. 123 (4th Cir. 2017) (unpublished); Baldonado v. Avrinmeritor, Inc., Civil Action No. 13-833-SLR-CJB, 2014 WL 2116112, at *3 (D. Del. May 20, 2014) (applying "choice of law rule of the forum state" in action removed under section 1442(a) ). In multidistrict litigation, the choice of law rules of the transferor court, i.e., Massachusetts, likewise apply where, as here, the transferor court is the location of the original suit and also the forum state. See In re Fresenius Granuflo/NaturaLyte Dialysate Products Liability Litigation, 76 F.Supp.3d 294, 300-301 305 (D. Mass. 2015).

"In Massachusetts, courts resolve choice-of-law questions " 'by assessing various choice-influencing considerations," including those provided in the Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws (1971).' " McKee v. Cosby, 874 F.3d 54, 59-60 (1st Cir. 2017) (quoting Cosme v. Whitin Mach. Works, Inc., 417 Mass. 643, 632 N.E.2d 832, 834 (1994) (quoting *352Bushkin Assocs. v. Raytheon Co., 393 Mass. 622, 473 N.E.2d 662, 668 (1985) ). With respect to torts and personal injuries in particular, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in Cosme identifies the following, applicable sections in the Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws (1971) ("the Restatement"):

Section 145 of the Restatement provides the general principle "applicable to all torts and to all issues in tort," id. at § 145 comment a, and § 146 of the Restatement provides a principle applicable in issues concerning causes of action involving personal injury. Both sections require an examination of the relevant issue in accordance with the principles provided in § 6 of the Restatement.

Cosme v. Whitin Mach. Works, Inc., 632 N.E.2d at 834-35 (footnotes omitted).

Section 146 specifically "applies to personal injuries that are caused either intentionally or negligently and to injuries for which the actor is responsible on the basis of strict liability." Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 146 cmt. a (1971). It therefore applies to this personal injury negligence and product liability action. Section 146 instructs that the "law of the state where the injury occurred determines the rights and liabilities of the parties, unless, with respect to the particular issue, some other state has a more significant relationship under the principles stated in § 6 to the occurrence and the parties ...."13 Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 146 cmt. a (1971).

The principles or "factors" in section six are:

(a) the needs of the interstate and international systems, (b) the relevant policies of the forum, (c) the relevant policies of other interested states and the relative interests of those states in the determination of the particular issue, (d) the protection of justified expectations, (e) the basic policies underlying the particular field of law, (f) certainty, predictability and uniformity of result, and (g) ease in the determination and application of the law to be applied.

Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 6 (1971). In balancing the section six factors, section 145(2) of the Restatement also comes into play in a personal injury action. See Robidoux v. Muholland, 642 F.3d 20, 25-26 (1st Cir. 2011) (quoting and applying section 145(2) in personal injury case). As stated by the First Circuit in Robidoux, in balancing the section six factors:

courts should consider various "contacts," including: "(a) the place where the injury occurred, (b) the place where the conduct causing the injury occurred, (c) the domicile, residence, nationality, place of incorporation and place of business of the parties, and (d) the place where the relationship, if any, between the parties is centered."

Id. (emphasis added) (quoting section 145(2) ); see also Geshke v. Crocs, Inc., 889 F.Supp.2d 253, 260 (D. Mass. 2012) (product liability action applying section 145). Moreover, the comments to section 146 repeatedly cross-reference the comments *353to section 145. See Restatement (Second) of Conflict of Laws § 146 cmt. c-h (1971).

Both plaintiff and GE devote a substantial portion of their briefs addressing the various contacts in section 145(2).

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Bluebook (online)
313 F. Supp. 3d 343, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/burleigh-v-alfa-laval-inc-dcd-2018.