Association of Intern. Auto. Mfrs., Inc. v. Abrams

• Decision Date: 23 May 1996
• Docket Number: D,No. 710,710
• Citation: 84 F.3d 602
• Parties: ASSOCIATION OF INTERNATIONAL AUTOMOBILE MANUFACTURERS, INC., and American Automobile Manufacturers Association, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Robert ABRAMS, as Attorney General of the State of New York, and Patricia B. Adduci, as Commissioner, Department of Motor Vehicles, Defendants-Appellees. ocket 94-9306.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Second Circuit

Page 602

84 F.3d 602

ASSOCIATION OF INTERNATIONAL AUTOMOBILE MANUFACTURERS, INC., and American Automobile Manufacturers Association, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. Robert ABRAMS, as Attorney General of the State of New York, and Patricia B. Adduci, as Commissioner,

Department of Motor Vehicles,

Defendants-Appellees.

No. 710, Docket 94-9306.

United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.

Argued Dec. 20, 1995.

Decided May 23, 1996.

Kenneth W. Starr, Washington, DC (Paul T. Cappuccio, Kirkland & Ellis, Washington, DC, Michael Hoenig, Daniel V. Gsovski, Herzfeld & Rubin, New York City, Richard A. Cordray, Grove City, Ohio, on the brief), for Plaintiffs-Appellants.

Rosalie J. Hronsky, Assistant Attorney General, New York City (Dennis C. Vacco, Attorney General of the State of New York, New York City, on the brief), for Defendants-Appellees.

Public Citizen Litigation Group, Washington, DC (David C. Vladeck, Washington, DC, of counsel), for Amici Curiae Public Citizen, Inc., Consumers Union of United States, The Center for Auto Safety, and New York Public Interest Research Group in support of Appellees.

Before: KEARSE, MAHONEY, and PARKER, Circuit Judges.

KEARSE, Circuit Judge:

Plaintiffs Association of International Automobile Manufacturers, Inc., and American Automobile Manufacturers Association (collectively "AIA") appeal from a final judgment of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, Whitman Knapp, Judge, dismissing their complaint against officials of the State of New York ("State"), challenging the validity of § 416-a of the New York Vehicle and Traffic Law (McKinney 1986 & Supp.1995), which, inter alia, requires automobile manufacturers to affix to each new passenger vehicle a label stating the maximum speed at which the vehicle's bumpers suffer only minimal damage upon impact ("New York bumper statute" or "New York statute"). AIA contended that the New York bumper statute is preempted by federal law, that it burdens interstate commerce in violation of the Commerce Clause of the Constitution, and that it is so vague as to violate the Due Process Clause. The district court rejected these contentions and granted summary judgment in favor of defendants. AIA pursues its contentions on appeal. For the reasons that follow, we conclude that there are genuine issues of fact as to the preemption and Commerce Clause claims and that summary judgment dismissing those claims was inappropriate. Accordingly, we vacate and remand for further proceedings.

I. BACKGROUND

The present action centers principally on the requirements imposed on passenger vehicle manufacturers by the New York bumper statute, in comparison to those imposed by federal law as reflected in two statutes, to wit, the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 (the "Safety Act"), 49 U.S.C.A. §§ 30101-30169 (West 1995), and the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act of 1972 (the "Cost Savings Act"), 49 U.S.C.A. §§ 32101-33118 (West 1995) (collectively "the federal Acts"), with respect to damage sustained by the vehicle's bumpers in a simulated collision.

The New York bumper statute, enacted in 1992, prohibits, inter alia, the sale or lease of any new passenger vehicle unless there is This vehicle is equipped with a front bumper that has been tested at an impact speed of (specified by vehicle manufacturer) _____ miles per hour and a rear bumper that has been tested at an impact speed of (specified by the vehicle manufacturer) _____ miles per hour, and has sustained no damage to the vehicle's body and minimal damage to the bumper and attachment hardware. Minimal damage to the bumper means damage that can be repaired with the use of a [sic ] common repair materials and without replacing any parts. The stronger the bumper, the less likely the car will require repair after a low-speed collision.

affixed to the vehicle a "bumper quality label" that states as follows:

N.Y. Vehicle & Traffic Law § 416-a(1) (emphasis added). "[I]mpact speed" is defined as

the maximum speed of impact upon the bumper of the vehicle at which the vehicle sustains no damage to the body and safety systems and only minimal damage to the bumper when subjected to the fixed barrier and pendulum impact tests, and when subjected to the corner impact test at not less than sixty percent of that maximum speed, conducted pursuant to the practices, procedures and regulations promulgated under the concurrent authority of the [Safety Act and the Cost Savings Act.]

Id. § 416-a(2) (emphases added). Violation of these provisions subjects a manufacturer to a civil fine of up to $50 per vehicle. Id. § 416-a(4).

As discussed in greater detail in Part II.A. below, the Safety Act and Cost Savings Act require the Secretary of Transportation ("Secretary") to promulgate standards regarding the safety, performance, and cost to insure passenger vehicles. The federal Acts also provide that state law is preempted to the extent that it is not identical to certain standards set by the federal Acts.

On the day before the New York bumper statute was to become effective, AIA commenced the present action, alleging that the New York statute is constitutionally invalid on the grounds (1) that it imposes on manufacturers standards that are inconsistent with those imposed by the Safety Act and the Cost Savings Act, and hence is expressly and impliedly preempted by the federal Acts; (2) that it impermissibly burdens interstate commerce because (a) manufacturers will be penalized under the statute when vehicles initially ordered by dealers outside of New York are later sold or leased in New York, (b) the need for extensive and expensive testing may influence the design of cars sold nationally, and, (c) other states may be prompted to adopt their own disclosure laws and create a disuniformity of regulation; and, (3) that the statute is impermissibly vague in that it (a) fails to specify the speeds at which testing must be conducted and (b) fails to define the terms "safety systems" and "common repair materials." The State deferred enforcement of the statute during the pendency of this suit in the district court. Both sides moved for summary judgment.

In an opinion reported at 867 F.Supp. 248 (1994), the district court rejected all of AIA's contentions and granted summary judgment in favor of the State. The court rejected the claim of express preemption on the ground that the New York bumper statute requires only information disclosure and that the federal Acts' express preemption provisions cover not disclosure but rather standards of performance:

The New York Statute in no way concerns itself with these federal definitions. It identifies neither a minimum standard for motor vehicle performance, nor a minimum performance standard, but instead requires car manufacturers to disclose to consumers the maximum speed at which a vehicle's front and rear bumpers can be impacted and "sustain[ ] no damage to the vehicle's body and minimal damage to the bumper and attachment hardware." Although it is quite probable that, as a result of the Statute, manufacturers will attempt to establish performance of bumpers on their vehicles about which they can boast, such activity would result from nothing more than the demands of the marketplace.

867 F.Supp. at 253-54 (quoting New York statute; other internal quotation marks omitted). The court rejected AIA's implied preemption [T]he Supreme Court has recently placed limits on the discretion of lower courts to entertain implied preemption claims.... In Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc. (1992) , 112 S.Ct. 2608, 2618, 120 L.Ed.2d 407 the Court held:

claim, noting that judicial discretion to consider such a claim is limited:

When Congress has considered the issue of pre-emption and has included in the enacted legislation a provision explicitly addressing that issue, and when that provision provides a reliable indicium of congressional intent with respect to state authority, there is no need to infer congressional intent to pre-empt state laws from the substantive provisions of the legislation.... [Internal citation and quotation marks omitted by district court.]

The Second Circuit, in Toy Mfrs. of America, Inc. v. Blumenthal (2d Cir.1992) 986 F.2d 615, 623-24, clarified that holding (emphasis in original):

It is true that where a preemption provision provides a "reliable indicium of congressional intent" a court is required to restrict its preemption analysis to the terms of that clause. However, a finding of implied preemption (which enlarges a field of preemption beyond what is covered by an express provision) is not automatically foreclosed by the existence of a preemption clause....

867 F.Supp. at 254. The court found that the "Congressional intent expressed in the preemption provisions of the [federal Acts] is unambiguous" and stated that "[it] need not determine whether the New York Statute is impliedly preempted." Id.

The court also rejected AIA's claim that the New York statute impermissibly burdens interstate commerce, finding no evidence that manufacturers would suffer any hardship from the statute's requirements as to labeling. It stated that any impetus for manufacturers to change their vehicle designs would come only from the nature of competition, for the statute itself imposes no design requirements:

None of [AIA's] alleged effects create any "excessive burden." Plaintiffs have not--and cannot--make a showing that any hardship results from requiring manufacturers to remove or apply the labels required under the Statute when cars are leased or sold in a different state from that for which they were originally ordered. Plaintiffs' second and third hardship arguments are similarly unavailing. The Statute does not require motor vehicles to meet any design requirements at all; nor ... has it created any standards which might conflict in the future with similar laws enacted by other states. In brief, plaintiffs' commerce...