Hardin v. BASF Corp.

290 F. Supp. 2d 964, 57 ERC (BNA) 1522, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17590, 2003 WL 22670890
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Arkansas
DecidedSeptember 26, 2003
Docket4:00 CV 00500 SWW, 4?00 CV 00503 SWW
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 290 F. Supp. 2d 964 (Hardin v. BASF Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hardin v. BASF Corp., 290 F. Supp. 2d 964, 57 ERC (BNA) 1522, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17590, 2003 WL 22670890 (E.D. Ark. 2003).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

SUSAN WEBBER WRIGHT, Chief Judge.

Plaintiffs, commercial tomato growers in eastern Arkansas, bring this lawsuit pursuant to the Court’s diversity jurisdiction, seeking compensatory and punitive damages for crop losses allegedly caused by a herbicide marketed under the trade name Facet, manufactured by Defendant BASF Corporation (“BASF”). This order addresses two motions currently pending in this case: (1) BASF’s motion for summary judgment based on federal preemption (docket entry #111) and (2) Plaintiffs’ motion for reconsideration of their motion to amend to add a claim for violations of the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (docket entry # 174). After full consider *967 ation of these motions, as well each related response and reply and pertinent portions of the record, the Court concludes that Defendant’s motion for summary judgment should be granted and Plaintiffs’ motion for reconsideration should be denied.

I. Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment on the Basis of Federal Preemption

Plaintiffs allege that Facet, which is used by rice farmers to kill barnyard grass, poses a substantial danger to non-target vegetation, particularly tomatoes. They claim that since 1992, Facet applied to rice fields in eastern Arkansas has drifted to their tomato crops and damaged them. According to Plaintiffs, regardless of precautions followed in using Facet, it is a defective and unreasonably dangerous product.

Plaintiffs seek relief under two theories: negligence and strict liability. They claim that BASF negligently designed, manufactured, and supplied Facet and failed to test the herbicide and “take measures to abate or remediate the damage caused by drift or movement of Facet onto off-target locations, including Plaintiffs’ property.” Docket entry # 149, ¶ 119. Additionally, they charge that BASF supplied Facet in a defective condition-specifically, with the alleged capacity to harm non-target plants-rendering the herbicide unreasonably dangerous. BASF moves for summary judgment, asserting that Plaintiffs’ claims are preempted by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (“FI-FRA”).

A. Summary Judgment Standard

Summary judgment is appropriate when the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, admissions on file, and affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). As a prerequisite to summary judgment, a moving party must demonstrate an absence of evidence to support the non-moving party’s case. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Once the moving party has properly supported its motion for summary judgment, the non-moving party must “do more than simply show there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts.” Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). When considering a motion for summary judgment, a court must construe all evidence in favor of the non-moving party. Id. (quoting Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)). However, the non-moving party may not rest on mere allegations or denials of his pleading but must “come forward with ‘specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.’ ” Id. at 587, 106 S.Ct. 1348.

B. FIFRA

In 1972, Congress amended FIFRA, transforming what had been a labeling law into a comprehensive regulatory statute governing the use, sale, and labeling of pesticides 1 produced and sold in intrastate and interstate commerce. See Ruckel-shaus v. Monsanto Co., 467 U.S. 986, 991-95, 104 S.Ct. 2862, 2867-2862, 81 L.Ed.2d 815 (1984) (providing a detailed history of FIFRA). As amended, FIFRA gives the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) authority over the registration, cancellation, and suspension of pesticides. No person in any state may distribute or sell a pesticide that is not registered with the EPA in accordance with FIFRA. See 7 U.S.C. § 136a.

FIFRA establishes an complex review process for approval of a label under which *968 a pesticide may be marketed. Pesticide manufacturers must submit draft labels addressing several topics including ingredients, directions for use, and adverse affects. As a prerequisite to registration, the EPA must determine, among other things, that a pesticide will perform its intended function without causing unreasonable adverse effects on the environment. See 7 U.S.C. § 136a(c)(5)(A)-(D). FIFRA defines “environment” as “water, air, land, and all plants and man and other animals living therein and the interrelationships which exist amount these.” 7 U.S.C. § 136(j).

To ensure uniform labeling requirements for pesticides, FIFRA expressly prohibits states from imposing “any requirements for labeling or packaging in addition to or different from those required under [FIFRA].” 7 U.S.C. § 136v(b)(emphasis added). 2 The Eighth Circuit has interpreted this express preemption provision to usurp any state law claims, whether predicated on statutory or common law, premised on inadequate labeling or failure to warn. See Nat’l Bank of Commerce of El Dorado, Arkansas v. Dow Chemical Co., 165 F.3d 602, 608 (8th Cir.1999).

Under the law of this Circuit, whether a plaintiffs claim is preempted under § 136v(b) does not depend on the label a plaintiff attaches to his claim: “It is immaterial whether an inadequate labeling or failure to warn claim is brought under a negligence or products liability theory. If a state law claim is premised on inadequate labeling or a failure to warn, the impact of allowing the claim would be to impose an additional or different requirement for the label or packaging.” Id. at 608 (emphasis in original).

The line between claims attacking a pesticide’s label and those seeking relief for a defective product is not always clear. Recognizing this fact, in Netland v. Hess & Clark,

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290 F. Supp. 2d 964, 57 ERC (BNA) 1522, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17590, 2003 WL 22670890, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hardin-v-basf-corp-ared-2003.