Hamlet v. Oliver Exterminating, Inc.

44 V.I. 99, 2001 WL 1568595, 2001 V.I. LEXIS 39
CourtSupreme Court of The Virgin Islands
DecidedOctober 4, 2001
DocketCivil No. 773/1998
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 44 V.I. 99 (Hamlet v. Oliver Exterminating, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of The Virgin Islands primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hamlet v. Oliver Exterminating, Inc., 44 V.I. 99, 2001 WL 1568595, 2001 V.I. LEXIS 39 (virginislands 2001).

Opinion

DONOHUE, Judge

MEMORANDUM OPINION

(October 4, 2001)

I. INTRODUCTION

THIS MATTER came before the Court on Third-Party Defendants’, Whitmire Micro-Gen Research Laboratories, Inc. (“Whitmire”) and Superior-Angran, Inc., (“Angran”), Motions for Summary Judgment, [101]*101pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, on the grounds that Defendant/Third-Party Plaintiff’s, Oliver Exterminating, Inc. (“Oliver”), Third-Party Complaint is preempted by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (“FIFRA”), codified as 7 U.S.C. §§ 136-136y. For the reasons set forth below, the Court will grant Defendants’ Motions for Summary Judgment.

II. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

The relevant facts are undisputed. Oliver is a pest control company doing business on St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands. Whitmire is a corporation that manufacturers, inter alia, a federally regulated insect Fogger called the “Pro Control Total Release Fogger” (“Fogger”), and Angran is a corporation that, inter alia, distributes these insect Foggers. Oliver uses these Foggers to exterminate any insects which may infest a specific area. The label on the Fogger directly instructs the user to “APPLY THIS PRODUCT AS SPECIFIED ON THIS LABEL.” Specifically, the instructions read in pertinent part:

DIRECTIONS:
1. Place newspaper on stand or table in center of the room to be fogged
5. Set Fogger on newspaper, leave room and close door.
6. After actuating Fogger, leave room or house at once....
PHYSICAL OR CHEMICAL HAZARDS
DIRECTIONS: It is a violation of federal law to use this product in a manner inconsistent with its labeling.

Additionally, Whitmire’s Technical Services Bulletin, which provides further guidance on the correct use of the Fogger, requires in pertinent part:

* Elevate the fogger by placing it on a chair, table or stand in the center of the room to be treated. The fogger should be placed 18-30" above floor. Cover the chair, table or stand and surrounding [102]*102area with several layers of newspaper, paper towels or plastic tarp. It is important to elevate the fogger to provide the best dispersal of the contents. Try to cover a 3' radius around the can. (Emphasis stated in the original).

On March 22, 1997, Oliver’s owner, Eldon J. Providence (“Providence”), placed three Foggers on the floor in the ladies bathroom at Banco Popular de Puerto Rico in Sunny Isle, St. Croix (“Banco Popular”). Contrary to the instructions and warnings on the label, Providence released the Foggers without first placing a newspaper on a chair, table or stand and then setting the Fogger on the newspaper. Instead, Providence placed the Foggers on the uncovered floor and left the room. Providence did not go back to Banco Popular to retrieve the used canisters. Apparently, Providence ignored the instructions and warnings on the label as to the correct use of the product, especially the specific warning stating that it is a violation of federal law to use the product in a manner inconsistent with its labeling. Moreover, Providence testified in his deposition that he occasionally follows the instructions on the label because he considers them to be “optional.” Two days later, on March 24, 1997, Plaintiff, Norma Hamlet (“Plaintiff’), an employee of Banco Popular, went to work at the bank’s Sunny Isle branch. At approximately twelve noon, Plaintiff went to the bathroom and slipped and fell on allegedly slippery residue from the Fogger. Plaintiff asserts that her fall could have been prevented if Oliver had cautioned Banco Popular’s employees of the potential slip hazard that existed after the Fogger was released. Plaintiff therefore claims that her injury resulted from Oliver’s negligence.

B. Procedural Background

On October 16, 1998, Plaintiff filed a negligence claim against Oliver alleging that she was injured by slipping on the floor in the ladies bathroom at Banco Popular. On November 6, 1998, Oliver filed an Answer and Affirmative Defenses to Plaintiffs Complaint. On October 22, 1999, Oliver filed a Third-Party Complaint against Third-Party Defendants, Whitmire and Angran (“Defendants”), which alleges two grounds for holding Defendants liable. Count I, a strict liability claim, alleges that Defendants are liable because they manufactured and distributed an unreasonably dangerous product by not warning users of [103]*103the potential slip hazard associated with the Fogger. Count II, a negligence claim, alleges that Defendants breached their duty to individuals who will foreseeably come into contact with the Fogger to insure it is not slippery. Alternatively, Count II alleges that Defendants failed to warn users of the potential slip hazard associated with the use of the Fogger and as a result, proximately caused Plaintiff’s injuries. Whitmire and Angran filed their Answers and Affirmative Defenses to Oliver’s Complaint on December 8, 1999 and December 21, 1999, respectively.

On September 5, 2000, Plaintiff and Oliver filed a Stipulation which allowed Plaintiff to Amend her Complaint. Oliver, however, did not file an Answer to Plaintiffs Amended Complaint. The Amended Complaint alleges that Oliver failed to: (1) follow the instructions of the manufacturer in placing the fogger at a specific elevation and placing materials underneath the fogger up to a three-foot radius; (2) inspect the premises after the canister had been utilized and to properly clean the area after the use of the fogger; (3) warn the bank’s employees of the potential slip hazards that existed after the canister had been utilized; (4) place the canister in a location which would not allow the insecticide to disseminate as it should have, causing a film to develop in the area where the canister was located, thus creating the slippery condition; and (5) insure the canister operated properly and did not leave a residue after its operation.

On September 18, 2000, Whitmire moved for summary judgment on the grounds that Oliver’s Complaint is barred by federal preemption. On October 10, 2000, Angran also moved for summary judgment on three grounds: (1) that Oliver has failed to present sufficient evidence to prove that Angran was negligent; (2) that Oliver has failed to present sufficient evidence to prove strict liability under RESTATEMENT (SECOND) OF TORTS §402A (1977); and (3) that Oliver’s Complaint is barred by federal preemption. Thereafter, Oliver filed an opposition to Defendants’ summary judgment motions without attaching any supporting documents. Finally, on September 5, 2001, the Court heard oral arguments on Defendants’summary judgment motions.

111. SUMMARY JUDGMENT STANDARD

The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
44 V.I. 99, 2001 WL 1568595, 2001 V.I. LEXIS 39, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hamlet-v-oliver-exterminating-inc-virginislands-2001.