Munroe v. Galati

• Decision Date: 27 May 1997
• Docket Number: No. CV-96-0522-PR,CV-96-0522-PR
• Citation: 189 Ariz. 113,938 P.2d 1114
• Parties: , Prod.Liab.Rep. (CCH) P 14,979, 244 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 3 Kenneth Henry MUNROE and Mildred Munroe, Petitioners, v. The Honorable Frank T. GALATI, Judge of the Superior Court of the State of Arizona, in an for the County Of Maricopa, Respondent Judge, GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION and Ray Korte Chevrolet, Inc., Real Parties in Interest.
• Court: Arizona Supreme Court

Page 1114

938 P.2d 1114

189 Ariz. 113, Prod.Liab.Rep. (CCH) P 14,979,

244 Ariz. Adv. Rep. 3

Kenneth Henry MUNROE and Mildred Munroe, Petitioners, v. The Honorable Frank T. GALATI, Judge of the Superior Court of the State of Arizona, in an for the County Of Maricopa, Respondent Judge, GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION and Ray Korte Chevrolet, Inc., Real Parties in Interest.

No. CV-96-0522-PR.

Supreme Court of Arizona,

In Banc.

May 27, 1997.

[189 Ariz. 114] Law Offices of Jim Robert Junker by Jim Robert Junker, Scottsdale, and Coben & Associates by Larry E. Coben, Garrett J. Olexa, Scottldale, for Petitioners.

Snell & Wilmer, L.L.P. by Richard W. Shapiro, Martha E. Gibbs, Phoenix, and McCutchen Doyle Brown & Enersen, L.L.P. by Leslie G. Landau, San Francisco, CA, and Strasburger & Price by R. Chris Harvey, Dallas, TX, for Real Parties in Interest.

Begam Lewis Marks & Wolfe, P.A. by Stanley J. Marks, Phoenix, and Trial Lawyers for Public Justice by Arthur H. Bryant, Washington, DC, for Amici Curiae Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, Public Citizen, Center for Auto Safety, Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety.

Bowman and Brooke by Jill S. Goldsmith, Phoenix, and Product Liability Advisory Council by Hugh F. Young, Jr., Reston, VA, and Mayer Brown & Platt by Kenneth S. Geller, Erika Z. Jones, John J. Sullivan, Lily Fu Swenson, Washington, DC, for Amicus Curiae Product Liability Advisory Council, Inc.

OPINION

FELDMAN, Justice.

Kenneth Munroe was rendered quadriplegic in a January 26, 1994 accident in Tempe. As he was driving his 1990 Chevrolet Corsica through the intersection of Rural Road and Broadway, another car turned in front of him, causing a front-end collision at relatively low speed. Because of alleged defects in the passive restraint seat belt, installed as part of a recall of the original defective system, Mr. Munroe was not restrained after the initial impact. The jerking movement resulting from the seatbelt's failure caused Mr. Munroe's spinal cord injury.

Mr. and Mrs. Munroe (Plaintiffs) filed a complaint against General Motors Corporation and Ray Korte Chevrolet, Inc. (Defendants), alleging liability on theories of strict liability, negligence, gross negligence, and breach of warranty. In their strict liability claim, Plaintiffs contend Mr. Munroe's injuries occurred because the combination of inadequacies in the seat belt design and the failure to equip or offer to equip the automobile with a supplemental driver's side air bag system made the vehicle defective and unreasonably dangerous. Defendants filed a motion for partial summary judgment to preclude Plaintiffs from raising at trial the claim that the vehicle was defective for failure to provide an air bag along with the seat belt. Judge Galati granted the motion for partial summary judgment, stating that the claim of defect due to "the absence of alternative safety systems is preempted" by the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, 15 U.S.C. § 1381 et seq. (the Act), and the language of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208, 49 C.F.R. § 571.208 (hereinafter FMVSS 208), promulgated under the Act.

Because the grant of partial summary judgment did not dismiss all of Plaintiffs' legal theories, the judgment was not certified as final. See Ariz.R.Civ.P. 54(b). There being no adequate remedy by appeal, a petition for special action was filed in the court of appeals. See Ariz.R.P.Spec.Act. 1(a). After hearing oral argument, the court of appeals declined to accept jurisdiction.

JURISDICTION

We have jurisdiction under Ariz. Const. art. VI, § 5(3) and Ariz.R.P.Spec.Act. 8. We have stated that as a general policy in Arizona, appellate courts should decline jurisdiction when a party seeks special action relief from denial of summary judgment. See City of Phoenix v. Yarnell & Smith, 184 Ariz. 310, 315, 909 P.2d 377, 382 (1995); Ft. Lowell-NSS Limited Partnership v. Kelly, 166 Ariz. 96, 99, 800 P.2d 962, 965 (1990). The rationale for declining jurisdiction in such cases is one of simple economy. Granting such special actions "often frustrates the expeditious resolution of claims, unnecessarily increases both appellate court caseload and interference with trial judges, harasses litigants with prolonged and costly appeals, and provides piecemeal review." City of Phoenix, 184 Ariz. at 315, 909 P.2d at 382.

These concerns are not present in this case; in fact, the special action may avoid further prolongation. This case does not involve the denial of summary judgment but, rather, the judge's failure to certify the grant of summary judgment under Ariz.R.Civ.P. 54(b). However, this is the rare case in which the policy concerns are substantially the same. The operative facts are undisputed. The issue, a pure question of law, turns on the meaning of words we used in a recent case. Thus, while "there is a substantial argument to be made over the adequacy of review by appeal ..., the factors mentioned above and the resulting cost and delay to all parties if normal appellate procedures were utilized and the case then had to be retried militate in favor of exercising our discretion to accept jurisdiction." University of Arizona v. Superior Court, 136 Ariz. 579, 581, 667 P.2d 1294, 1296 (1983). Mr. Munroe is a 67-year-old quadriplegic. To apply our opinion in a recent case and avoid needless expense, time consumption, and lack of finality, we granted jurisdiction of this special action.

DISCUSSION

Defendant argues that Plaintiffs' strict liability count, based on General Motors' failure to provide an air bag, is preempted and precluded because the regulations promulgated under the Act do not require the manufacturer to install air bags as part of an automobile's protective devices. We note at the outset the very important fact that the standards also do not prohibit the manufacturer from installing such air bags.

The preemption issue we consider today is the subject of a long series of opinions, two from this court and many from both the United States Supreme Court and federal circuit courts. Those interested in the history of this problem and the many authorities that have considered it are referred to Hernandez-Gomez v. Leonardo, 180 Ariz. 297, 884 P.2d 183 (1994) (Hernandez-Gomez I ). The United States Supreme Court vacated that opinion following its decision in Freightliner Corp. v. Myrick, 514 U.S. 280, 115 S.Ct. 1483, 131 L.Ed.2d 385 (1995), and ordered us to reconsider the matter. On reconsideration, we again concluded that Hernandez-Gomez' claim (failure to install a lap belt in addition to the two-point safety belt) was not precluded by the standards promulgated under the Act, even though those standards permitted the manufacturer to sell the car without the safety device and even though the plaintiff's claim of design defect was based on the manufacturer's failure to do something not required by federal law. Hernandez-Gomez v. Leonardo, 185 Ariz. 509, 518, 917 P.2d 238, 247 (1996) (Hernandez-Gomez II ).

A. The holding of Hernandez-Gomez II

We addressed the preemption issue in Hernandez-Gomez II, stating that "Volkswagen could argue that a state common-law tort claim, which alleges that a defective design failed to protect occupants in front-end accidents, is preempted if federal regulatory requirements for performance in front-end accidents are met." 185 Ariz. at 516, 917 P.2d at 245 (emphasis added). Defendants read this statement as an affirmative holding that in front-end collision cases, Plaintiffs are preempted by the federal safety standards from bringing a state common-law claim based on General Motors' failure to include an air bag along with the passive restraint system.

We disagree. First, the statement was merely a comment on Volkswagen's argument possibilities in frontal crash cases, not part of any holding. The next sentence reads: "Volkswagen cannot, however, make that preemption claim with regard to rollover accidents because the federal standard it chose did not address design or performance requirements for that type of accident." Taking the sentences together, it is apparent we said only that whatever the validity of Volkswagen's argument in frontal crash cases, it had no validity in the Hernandez-Gomez rollover case. This is not tantamount to saying, let alone holding, that the argument is valid.

Second, in Hernandez-Gomez I we were quite definite in finding there was no express preemption of state common-law claims by the federal regulatory requirements for safety systems. Absent express preemption, and given the savings clause, we found no preemptive effect at all, stating: "The text of the savings clause explicitly shelters common-law claims from preemption, expansively providing that compliance with federal regulation 'does not exempt [one] from any liability under common law.' " 180 Ariz. at 304, 884 P.2d at 190, citing 15 U.S.C. § 1397(k) (savings clause). ¹ We did not and therefore have not held in either Hernandez-Gomez case that the Act preempted state common-law tort claims. However, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari in Hernandez-Gomez I and remanded for reconsideration in light of Myrick, in which it held that implied preemption may exist beyond the text of an express preemption clause in a statute. 514 U.S. at 284, 115 S.Ct. at 1486.

B. Implied preemption

While noting that there was no express preemption of Hernandez-Gomez' claims and that the savings clause would ordinarily militate against establishing a preemption claim, in Hernandez-Gomez II we decided to engage in an implied preemption analysis. The reason for this was caution rather than federal judicial mandate. See Hernandez-Gomez II, 185 Ariz. at 514, 917 P.2d at 243. Because Myrick relied primarily, if not totally, on the absence of federal standards for anti-locking braking systems rather than application of the savings clause, it was unclear what the Supreme Court's position might be were Hernandez-Gomez to...