Slotnick v. Dymon, Inc.

2 Mass. L. Rptr. 154
CourtMassachusetts Superior Court
DecidedApril 26, 1994
DocketNo. 92-5548
StatusPublished

This text of 2 Mass. L. Rptr. 154 (Slotnick v. Dymon, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Massachusetts Superior Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Slotnick v. Dymon, Inc., 2 Mass. L. Rptr. 154 (Mass. Ct. App. 1994).

Opinion

Houston, J.

Plaintiff Alvin Slotnick (Slotnick) brings this action against defendants Dymon, Inc. (Dymon) and State Chemical Manufacturing Company (State Chemical) to recover damages resulting from a fire at his apartment complex. Slotnick alleges that an insecticide manufactured by Dymon ignited, causing a fire that destroyed two buildings of his apartment com[155]*155plex. The defendants now move to dismiss the complaint pursuant to Mass.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) on the ground that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), 7 U.S.C. §136 et seq., preempts Slotnick’s claims. For the reasons stated below, the defendants’ motion to dismiss is allowed in part and denied in part.

BACKGROUND

The complaint sets forth the following facts.

Dymon manufactures, and State Chemical distributes, an insecticide bearing the brand name, “Dead End.” Slotnick owns an apartment complex in Peabody. Responding to a tenant’s request, one of Slotnick’s maintenance employees sprayed Dead End insecticide inside an apartment located within Slotnick’s apartment complex. Although Slotnick’s maintenance employee obeyed the instructions on the insecticide’s container, the Dead End insecticide ignited, causing a fire that resulted in extensive damage to Slotnick’s apartment complex.

DISCUSSION

The complaint contains eight counts; the defendants claim that FIFRA preempts counts one through, and including, six. The preemption doctrine is derived from Article VI of the United States Constitution, which provides that the Constitution and Laws of the United States “shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every state shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.” U.S. Const. Art. VI, cl. 2. Because the general police powers have been historically committed to the states’ jurisdiction, Congress must demonstrate clearly its intent to supersede state law for its legislation to have preemptive effect. Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp., 331 U.S. 218, 230 (1947).

FIFRA is a' comprehensive regulatory statute governing, among other things, the purchasing and labeling of pesticides, insecticides, and rodenticides. See Wisconsin Public Intervenor v. Mortier, 111 S.Ct. 2476, 2479-81 (1991) (discussing FIFRA’s purpose and history). The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has regulated pesticide, insecticide, and rodenticide labeling extensively. See 40 C.F.R. §156.10 (1993) (pesticide labeling regulations); Davidson v. Velsicol Chemical, 834 P.2d 931, 935 (Nev. 1992).

FIFRA contains an express preemption provision. Section 136v, entitled “Authority of States,” provides in pertinent part:

(a) A state may regulate the sale or use of any federally registered pesticide or device in the State, but only if and to the extent the regulation does not permit any sale or use prohibited by this subchap-ter.
(b) Such State shall not impose or continue in effect any requirements for labeling or packaging in addition to or different from those required under this subchapter.

7 U.S.C. §136V.

This court’s review is limited to determining whether Slotnick’s claims fall within the ambit of claims that §136v expressly preempts. Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc., 112 S.Ct. 2608, 2618 (1992) (express preemption provision implies that matters beyond the scope of such provision are not preempted).

The defendants claim that §136v(b) preempts all of Slotnick’s claims because each claim is based on a state law that imposes labeling requirements “in addition to or different from” FIFRA’s labeling requirements.3 Counts one and two allege that the defendants committed negligence by failing to warn consumers adequately of Dead End’s flammability. FIFRA manifestly preempts Slotnick’s claims based on the defendants’ alleged failure to warn because liability under such a theory is predicated on an inadequacy in the product’s warning label and would inevitably impose labeling requirements “in addition to or different from” those required by FIFRA.4 King v. E.I. DuPont de Nemours and Co., 996 F.2d 1346, 1350-51 (1st Cir. 1993), cert. dismissed, 126 L.Ed.2d 440 (1993) (FIFRA preempted state common law tort claims based on failure to warn); Papas v. Upjohn Co., 985 F.2d 516, 517-18 (11th Cir. 1993), cert. den., 114 S.Ct. 300 (1993) (FIFRA preempted plaintiffs negligence claim to the extent plaintiff challenged the adequacy of a warning label); Davidson v. Velsicol, supra, 834 P.2d at 936 (FIFRA preempts the field with respect to labeling).

Although FIFRA preempts counts one and two to the extent they allege liability based on the inadequacy of Dead End’s warning label, these counts also allege that Dymon committed negligence by designing and manufacturing, and State Chemical by selling, an unreasonably dangerous product. Thus, counts one and two in combination allege that the defendants are liable under both negligent failure to warn and negligent design theories. There is a distinction, though not always a clear one, between a claim based on a defective label and one based on a defective product.5 Although FIFRA preempts state law tort claims based on negligent failure to warn, it does not preempt negligence claims to the extent that such claims pertain to manufacturing, design, or testing. Worm v. American Cyanamid Co., 5 F.3d 744, 747 (4th Cir. 1993).

Since Slotnick alleges that Dymon manufactured, and State Chemical distributed, a product that was negligently formulated, designed, and tested, he has stated a viable cause of action. The defendants’ motion to dismiss must be denied, therefore, with respect to counts one and two. Whitinsville Plaza, Inc. v. Kotseas, 378 Mass. 85, 89 (1979) (complaint should not be dismissed if it could support relief under any theory of law).

[156]*156Counts three and four allege that Dymon and State Chemical breached their express and implied warranties by manufacturing and selling respectively a product that is both unfit for its intended use and not merchantable. The defendants argue that liability under express and implied warranties is necessarily contingent upon proof that Dead End’s warning label was inadequate. Since Slotnick must impugn the sufficiency of Dead End’s label to recover under a warranty theory, according to the defendants, FIFRA preempts counts three and four. This court disagrees.

In support of their argument, the defendants rely upon Worm v. American Cyanamid Co., supra, and Papas v. Upjohn Co., supra, in which the courts held that FIFRA preempted plaintiffs’ breach of warranty claims.

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Related

Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp.
331 U.S. 218 (Supreme Court, 1947)
Wisconsin Public Intervenor v. Mortier
501 U.S. 597 (Supreme Court, 1991)
Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc.
505 U.S. 504 (Supreme Court, 1992)
Davidson v. Velsicol Chemical Corp.
834 P.2d 931 (Nevada Supreme Court, 1992)
Whitinsville Plaza, Inc. v. Kotseas
390 N.E.2d 243 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1979)
Uloth v. City Tank Corp.
384 N.E.2d 1188 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1978)
Kourouvacilis v. General Motors Corp.
575 N.E.2d 734 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1991)
Colter v. Barber-Greene Co.
525 N.E.2d 1305 (Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, 1988)
Worm v. American Cyanamid Co.
5 F.3d 744 (Fourth Circuit, 1993)
Papas v. Upjohn Co.
985 F.2d 516 (Eleventh Circuit, 1993)

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