Wagoner v. Exxon Mobil Corp.

832 F. Supp. 2d 664, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59754, 2011 WL 2182042
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Louisiana
DecidedJune 3, 2011
DocketCivil Action No. 09-7257
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 832 F. Supp. 2d 664 (Wagoner v. Exxon Mobil Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Wagoner v. Exxon Mobil Corp., 832 F. Supp. 2d 664, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59754, 2011 WL 2182042 (E.D. La. 2011).

Opinion

ORDER & REASONS

ELDON C. FALLON, District Judge.

Before the Court is a Motion for Summary Judgment (Rec. Doc. No. 101) filed by Defendant Radiator Specialty Co. The Court has reviewed the submitted memoranda and the applicable law. For the following reasons, the motion is granted in part and denied in part.

I. BACKGROUND AND PRESENT MOTION

This case arises out of the death of James Wagoner, Jr. due to alleged deficiencies in the testing, design, labeling, and distribution of products that contain benzene. In her Complaint, Plaintiff Made Wagoner, who filed suit on behalf of herself and as the legal representative of [666]*666the decedent, avers that as part of his work from the 1970s until 2008, the decedent frequently came in contact with products containing benzene and that as a result, he was chronically exposed to the toxic substance. Among the products that the decedent allegedly used is Liquid Wrench, which is manufactured and distributed by Defendant Radiator Specialty Co. Plaintiff alleges that as a result of chronic exposure to benzene, the decedent suffered from and eventually died of multiple myeloma. In her Complaint, Plaintiff has asserted a number of claims against Defendant, including ones alleging design and warning defects. In its Answer, Defendant has denied liability.

Defendant has now filed a Motion for Summary Judgment (Rec. Doc. No. 101). Defendant contends that all of Plaintiffs claims fail as a matter of law because they are preempted under the Federal Hazardous Substances Act (FHSA), 15 U.S.C. § 1261 et seq. Defendant argues that because Liquid Wrench is “intended, or packaged in a form suitable, for use in the household,” id. §§ 1261(p), 1262(b), it falls within the regulatory scheme of the FHSA. That statute, Defendant notes, preempts any state-law claim that seeks to impose labeling requirements different from those prescribed by the FHSA. Defendant asserts that its Liquid Wrench label complies with the FHSA and that accordingly, Plaintiffs claims fail on the merits. Alternatively, Defendant states, to the extent that they seek to impose different labeling requirements, Plaintiffs claims are preempted.

Plaintiff opposes Defendant’s motion. First, Plaintiff argues that there is a genuine issue of fact as to whether the Liquid Wrench product used by the decedent is “intended, or packaged in a form suitable, for use in the household.” Id. Second, Plaintiff asserts that there is also a genuine issue of fact as to whether the Liquid Wrench product complied with the various labeling requirements of the FHSA. According to Plaintiff, the Liquid Wrench product does not warn of its “principal hazard[s],” does not describe “precautionary measures,” does not specify “instructions for handling,” does not provide “conspicuous[ ]” warnings, and contains statements that negate the warnings that do appear on the label. Id. § 1261 (p)(l); 16 C.F.R. § 1500.122. Plaintiff asserts that in light of all of this, summary judgment as to her failure-to-warn claim is not appropriate at this juncture. Finally, Plaintiff argues that the FHSA does not reach the non-warning claims that she has asserted and that accordingly, Defendant’s attempt to obtain summary judgment as to those claims should be rejected.

II. LAW AND ANALYSIS

A. Standard of Review

A district court can grant a motion for summary judgment only when the “the movant shows that there is no genuine dispute as to any material fact and the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(a). When considering a motion for summary judgment, the district court “will review the facts drawing all inferences most favorable to the party opposing the motion.” Reid v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 784 F.2d 577, 578 (5th Cir.1986). The court must find “[a] factual dispute ... [to be] ‘genuine’ if the evidence is such that a reasonable jury could return a verdict for the nonmoving party ... [and a] fact ... [to be] ‘material’ if it might affect the outcome of the suit under the governing substantive law.” Beck v. Somerset Techs., Inc., 882 F.2d 998, 996 (5th Cir.1989) (citing Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. [667]*667242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)).

“If the moving party meets the initial burden of showing that there is no genuine issue of material fact, the burden shifts to the non-moving party to produce evidence or designate specific facts showing the existence of a genuine issue for triql.” Engstrom v. First Nat’l Bank of Eagle Lake, 47 F.3d 1459, 1462 (5th Cir.1995). The mere argued existence of a factual dispute will not defeat an otherwise properly supported motion. See Anderson, 477 U.S. at 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505. “If the evidence is merely colorable, or is not significantly probative,” summary judgment is appropriate. Id. at 249-50, 106 S.Ct. 2505 (citations omitted).

B. Preemption Under the FHSA

1. Overview of the FHSA

Congress enacted the Federal Hazardous Substances Labeling Act in 1960 in order to “provide a nationally uniform requirement for adequate cautionary labeling of packages of hazardous substances.” H.R. Rep. 86-1861, at 1 (1960), reprinted in 1960 U.S.C.C.A.N. 2833, 2833. As enacted, the statute prohibited the “introduction into interstate commerce of any misbranded package of a hazardous substance.” Pub.L. No. 86-613, § 4(a), 74 Stat. 372, 375 (codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1263(a)). The term “misbranded package of a hazardous substance” was defined as one that failed to comply with a number of labeling requirements. See id. § 2(p), 74 Stat. at 374 (codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1261(p)). The agency in charge of implementing the statute was authorized to promulgate “additional label requirements” if it found that the minimum label requirements were not adequate to protect public health and safety. Id. § (3)(b), 74 Stat. at 374 (codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1262(b)).

In 1966, Congress amended the statute. First, Congress added a new provision prohibiting the introduction into interstate commerce of “banned hazardous substance[s].” Pub.L. No. 89-756, § 3(b), 80 Stat. 1303, 1305 (codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1263(a)). The statute defined that term as including any substance that, despite complying with the statute’s labeling requirements, presents such a hazard that public health “can be adequately served only by keeping such substance ... out of the channels of interstate commerce.” Id. § 3(a), 80 Stat. at 1304 (codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1261(q)(l)).

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832 F. Supp. 2d 664, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 59754, 2011 WL 2182042, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/wagoner-v-exxon-mobil-corp-laed-2011.