Hopkins v. American Cyanamid Co.

653 So. 2d 196, 1995 La. App. LEXIS 788, 1995 WL 146224
CourtLouisiana Court of Appeal
DecidedApril 5, 1995
DocketNo. 26721-CA
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 653 So. 2d 196 (Hopkins v. American Cyanamid Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Louisiana Court of Appeal 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., 653 So. 2d 196, 1995 La. App. LEXIS 788, 1995 WL 146224 (La. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

liPRICE, Judge Pro Tern.

This is a products liability action. The plaintiffs are farmers who filed suit against two agricultural chemical manufacturers and a farm supply retailer to recover for crop damage caused by a combination of two chemicals, an insecticide and a herbicide. The manufacturer of the herbicide and the farm supply retailer settled with the plaintiffs, leaving the manufacturer of the insecticide as the sole defendant. Prior to trial, the trial court granted a partial summary judgment in favor of the remaining defendant. After a trial on the merits regarding the remaining claims, the jury handed down a verdict in favor of the plaintiffs. The defendant appeals. For the following reasons we reverse.

I. FACTS

Mr. and Mrs. John C. Hopkins are farmers in Madison Parish, Louisiana. Mr. and Mrs. Larry Ezell also farm in that area. The Hopkins and the Ezells planted cotton in the crop year 1990. Both couples purchased various chemicals and supplies from Madison Farm Supply, a farm retailer located in Tal-lulah, Louisiana. Two of the chemicals they purchased were Thimet, a granular insecticide manufactured by American Cyanamid Company, and Direx, a herbicide manufactured by Griffin Corporation.

The Hopkins and the Ezells applied, pre-emergence, a combination of these two chemicals in planting their cotton crop. Shortly after growth began, they observed severe stunting and discoloration. Some of the crops died, resulting in reduced cotton yields for the crop year. Consequently, the farmers filed suit against American Cyanamid Company, Griffin Corporation, Madison Farm Supply, and Madison Farm Supply’s liability insurer. They sought recovery of damages under theories of negligence and strict liability. The plaintiffs settled their claims with Griffin Corporation prior to trial. They settled with Madison Farm Supply and its insurer on the morning of trial. American Cyanamid remained as the sole defendant.

American Cyanamid filed a Motion for Summary Judgment and a Memorandum in Support, in which it argued that the plaintiffs’ claims of inadequate warning, regarding the dangers of the use of American Cyanam-id’s product, Thimet, were pre-empted by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenti-cide Act, 7 U.S.C., Section 136, et seq. |2(FIFRA). This motion was heard prior to trial. The trial court granted partial summary judgment in favor of American Cyan-amid Company, determining that FIFRA pre-empted the claims based on inadequate product labeling and failure to provide different or additional printed matter in connection with the sale and use of Thimet, but not the failure to warn claims “broader than the definition of labeling contained in Section 136 of FIFRA.”

After a trial on the merits regarding the plaintiffs’ remaining claims, the jury found that American Cyanamid was 70% at fault. It assessed 20% of the fault to Griffin Corpo[198]*198ration and 10% percent to Madison Farm Supply, both of which had previously settled with the plaintiffs. The jury awarded $95,-000 to the Hopkins, and $75,000 to the Ezells.

American Cyanamid has taken a timely suspensive appeal from this judgment. It asserts four assignments of error:

(1) the trial court erred in failing to dismiss all of plaintiffs’ claims and grant full summary judgment in favor of defendant;
(2) the trial court erred in allowing the jury to consider the current Thimet label, where it refused to allow the jury to consider the Thimet label in use at the time of the incident;
(3) the trial court erred in allowing the jury to consider the label of a competitor’s product; and
(4) it was manifestly erroneous for the jury to find American Cyanamid Company 70% at fault for plaintiffs’ damages.

In determining that the first assignment of error is meritorious, we address only it and pretermit any discussion of the remaining assignments of error.

II. ASSIGNMENT OF ERROR NO. 1

American Cyanamid asserts that the trial court erred in failing to grant full summary judgment because FIFRA preempted all of plaintiffs’ claims. A motion for summary judgment may be granted if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, admissions and affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to material fact and that the mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. LSA-C.C.P. 3Art. 966; Rhodes v. Executive Risk Consultants, Inc., 26,021 (La.App. 2d Cir. 8/17/94), 642 So.2d 269. Only when reasonable minds must inevitably conclude that the mover is entitled to judgment as a matter of law is summary judgment warranted. Chaney v. National RR Passenger Corp., 583 So.2d 926 (La.App. 1st Cir.1991). When reviewing the granting of a motion for summary judgment, the appellate court must review the record de novo, under the same criteria which governed the trial court’s consideration of whether summary judgment was appropriate. Tugwell v. State Farm Insurance Co., 609 So.2d 195 (La.1992).

In the case before us, there is no dispute that plaintiffs purchased Thimet and Direx from Madison Farm Supply, and that plaintiffs used Thimet and Direx on their cotton crops. There also is no dispute that Thimet was manufactured by American Cyanamid, and that Thimet is registered with and approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as required by FIFRA, 7 U.S.C. 136, et seq. We now must determine whether FIFRA pre-empts state tort law claims based on a failure to warn or inadequate labeling, and, if so, whether plaintiffs’ claims are pre-empted.

A. Federal Pre-emption

The principles of pre-emption resolve conflicts between federal and state law. Worm v. American Cyanamid, 970 F.2d 1301 (4th Cir.1992), appeal after remand, 5 F.3d 744 (4th Cir.1993). The pre-emption doctrine is based on the Supremacy Clause of Article Six of the Constitution from which flows the well-established principle that federal legislation, if enacted pursuant to Congress’ constitutionally delegated authority, can nullify conflicting state or local actions. Id. Consideration of issues arising under the Supremacy Clause starts with the assumption that the historic police powers of the states are not to be superseded by a federal act unless that clearly is Congress’ intent. Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc., 505 U.S. -, 112 S.Ct. 2608, 120 L.Ed.2d 407 (1992). The intent of Congress may be explicitly stated in the statute’s language or implicitly contained in its structure and purpose. Id. In the absence of an express congressional command, state law is pre-empted if that law actually conflicts with federal law or if federal law so | thoroughly occupies a legislative field as to make reasonable the inference that Congress left no room for supplementation by the states. Id.

American Cyanamid must adequately demonstrate that FIFRA pre-empts any state tort action. The burden of proof is on the party asserting pre-emption. Thornton v. Fondren Green Apartments, 788 F.Supp. 928 (S.D.Tex.1992). With these principles stated, we proceed to an examination of FIFRA and the reach of its pre-emption provision.

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Related

Hopkins v. American Cyanamid Co.
666 So. 2d 615 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1996)

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Bluebook (online)
653 So. 2d 196, 1995 La. App. LEXIS 788, 1995 WL 146224, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hopkins-v-american-cyanamid-co-lactapp-1995.