Hopkins v. American Cyanamid Co.

666 So. 2d 615, 1996 WL 14039
CourtSupreme Court of Louisiana
DecidedJanuary 16, 1996
Docket95-C-1088
StatusPublished
Cited by41 cases

This text of 666 So. 2d 615 (Hopkins v. American Cyanamid Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hopkins v. American Cyanamid Co., 666 So. 2d 615, 1996 WL 14039 (La. 1996).

Opinion

666 So.2d 615 (1996)

John C. HOPKINS, et al.
v.
AMERICAN CYANAMID COMPANY, et al.

No. 95-C-1088.

Supreme Court of Louisiana.

January 16, 1996.

*617 J. Michael Hart, Theus, Grisham, Davis, & Leigh; Sharon Woodyear Ingram, for Applicant.

Donald J. Anzelmo, Crawford & Anzelmo; Lawrence S. Edner, for Respondent.

Lewis O. Sams, Counsel for Lewis O. Sams, Amicus Curiae.

CALOGERO, Chief Justice.[*]

We granted writs in this case to decide whether the court of appeal erred in reviewing, then reversing, based solely upon pleadings and affidavits, the district court's denial of a motion for summary judgment, following a fully tried lawsuit, and to decide whether the court of appeal erred in holding that the plaintiffs' claims were pre-empted by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act ("FIFRA"), 7 U.S.C. §§ 136 et seq. We find that the court of appeal should not have restricted its fact review to the affidavits and pleadings in support of the motion for summary judgment. And we hold that FIFRA does indeed pre-empt the majority, but not all, of plaintiffs' claims. We reverse in part and remand to the court of appeal for further review.

The plaintiffs in this case, John and Ella Hopkins ("Hopkins") along with Larry and Theresa Ezell ("Ezell") are two farming families in Madison Parish. They brought this lawsuit in order to recover for damages to their 1990 cotton crops caused by the use of the insecticide Thimet along with the herbicide Direx. Thimet is manufactured by the defendant, American Cyanamid Company. Direx is manufactured by Griffin Corporation, a co-defendant at the start of this litigation. Both products are registered with and approved by the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") as required by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act ("FIFRA"), 7 U.S.C. §§ 136 et seq.

In 1990 the plaintiffs purchased Thimet and Direx from Madison Farm Supply to assist them in cultivating a cotton crop. Prior to emergence of the crop, Hopkins and Ezell applied a combination of Thimet and Direx. When the cotton plants emerged many were discolored, stunted and later died, thereby reducing the yield for that crop year. Hopkins and Ezell filed suit against American Cyanamid, Griffin, Madison Farm Supply, and Madison Farm Supply's liability insurer, Zurich American Insurance Group. *618 The plaintiffs settled with Griffin, Madison Farm Supply, and Zurich American. American Cyanamid was the sole defendant at trial.

The plaintiffs sought recovery against American Cyanamid on several theories of liability. Specifically, plaintiffs alleged that American Cyanamid is liable for the following acts:

a. in failing to properly warn end users of the combined effect and harm that could result from the combined usage of [Thimet and Direx];
b. in failing to properly warn end users of the danger inherent in the combined use of these products;
c. in failing to properly advise distributors of their product to prohibit sales of these products where it was anticipated that a combined application would be utilized in connection with planting;
d. in improperly designing and manufacturing a chemical product which, if used in conjunction with a competitor's product also recommended for usage in a pre-emergence application on a cotton crop, would result in severe damage to the strand of cotton;
e. in failing to properly label and to thus warn end users of the product of the inherent danger associated with a combined application of the products set forth above; or alternatively, in failing to properly instruct end users on appropriate quantities of their product which could be used in a combination application with a competitor's product as described above;
f. in failing to adequately test the compatibility of these products for use with other products manufactured by competitors, especially where it should be anticipated that the products would or could be sold for a combined application; and
g. other specifics to be shown at the trial of this case.
[the plaintiffs allege that Madison Farm as "an agent of American Cyanamid ... gave advice and made recommendations... to concurrently apply the two products" and that is defective.]

Prior to trial, American Cyanamid filed a motion for summary judgment in which it argued that all of plaintiffs' claims dealt with inadequate warning regarding the use of Thimet and Direx, and were therefore preempted by FIFRA. The trial court granted the motion in part, finding that FIFRA pre-empted some but not all of plaintiffs' claims, those which were "based on the failure of the defendant ... to adequately label its product" or which "would require a holding that American Cyanamid should have provided additional, different or more precise written or printed matter in connection with the sale and distribution of Thimet." This was adverse to American Cyanamid, but neither American Cyanamid, nor the plaintiffs, sought writs to the court of appeal or this Court from that ruling. The case proceeded to trial, and after a four day trial on the merits the jury returned a verdict apportioning 70% fault to American Cyanamid, maker of Thimet, 20% fault to Griffin, the released co-defendant and manufacturer of Direx, 10% fault to Madison Farm Supply, vendor, and 0% fault to the plaintiffs. Hopkins was awarded $95,000.00 and Ezell was awarded $75,000.00.

American Cyanamid appealed and the court of appeal, despite the existence of a fully developed record and a jury verdict, reviewed the trial court's pre-trial partial denial of the defendant's motion for summary judgment on the strength of the affidavits and pleadings in support of the motion appearing in the record, without assessing the evidence submitted at trial. The court of appeal thereupon held that "to the extent that state law actions for damages depend upon a showing that a pesticide manufacturer's `labeling or packaging' failed to meet a standard `in addition to or different from' FIFRA requirements, [FIFRA] pre-empts the claims." The court of appeal then went on to hold in the substance of their ruling on the denial of the motion for summary judgment that the claims in plaintiffs' petition, Article 10(a), (b), (c), and (e) were pre-empted on their face and that the claims in *619 Article 10(d) and (f) when properly analyzed, were also pre-empted under FIFRA.

The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) was initially enacted by Congress in 1947. It was substantially revised in 1972 when control for its enforcement was turned over to the Environmental Protection Agency. The statute was enacted to "regulate the use of pesticides to protect man and his environment; and to extend Federal pesticide regulation to actions entirely within a single State." S.Rep. No. 92-838, 92d Cong.2d Sess., reprinted in 1972 U.S.C.C.A.N. 3993. The statute was also passed in order to:

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Bluebook (online)
666 So. 2d 615, 1996 WL 14039, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hopkins-v-american-cyanamid-co-la-1996.