Botz v. Omni Air Intern.
| Decision Date | 19 January 2001 |
| Docket Number | No. Civ. 00-2277RHK/JMM.,Civ. 00-2277RHK/JMM. |
| Citation | 134 F.Supp.2d 1042 |
| Parties | Anna BOTZ, f/k/a Anna Hollenkamp, Plaintiff, v. OMNI AIR INTERNATIONAL, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Minnesota |
Jonathan G. Steinberg, Chrastil & Steinberg, Minneapolis, MN, for plaintiff.
Patricia A. Burke, Jonathan J. Hegre, Rider Bennett Egan & Arundel, Minneapolis, MN, J. Ronald Petrikin, John A. Bugg, Conner & Winters, Tulsa, OK, for defendant.
Plaintiff Anna Botz, f/k/a Anna Hollenkamp, ("Botz") worked as a flight attendant for Defendant Omni Air International ("Omni"). Botz claims that Omni discharged her because she reported a suspected violation of the Federal Aviation Regulations ("FAR"), and refused an order by Omni that Botz believed would violate the FAR. Botz filed this suit in the Hennepin County District Court, claiming that Omni's actions violated the Minnesota Whistleblower Statute, specifically Minn. Stat. § 181.932, subd. 1(a) and (c). Omni removed the case to this Court invoking its diversity jurisdiction. (Notice of Removal (Doc. No. 1).) Currently before the Court is Omni's Motion to Dismiss, brought pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. For the reasons set forth below, the Court will grant the motion and dismiss the Complaint without prejudice.
Botz was employed by Omni as a flight attendant from May 1999, until she was discharged in July 2000. In January 2000, Omni assigned Botz to work a round trip flight from Alaska to Japan. According to Botz, this assignment violated the FAR's restriction on a flight attendant's "duty period" to no more than 20 hours. Botz completed the Alaska to Japan round trip as requested by Omni. Upon her return, however, she contacted Jay Livesey with the Federal Aviation Administration, Cabin Safety Division, to inquire about the legality of her recently completed assignment. Mr. Livesey informed Botz that the round trip assignment did violate the FAR. Botz did nothing further about the violation.
On July 7, 2000, at an employee meeting, Omni again asked Botz to work the round trip flight from Alaska to Japan. This time Botz objected to the assignment, stating that it would be a violation of the FAR. During this meeting, Omni's corporate scheduler faxed a copy of a portion of the FAR to the flight supervisor. The flight supervisor, after reviewing the FAR, informed Botz that the assignment did not violate the FAR. Botz then attempted to contact Mr. Livesey to see if the flight supervisor was correct. Botz was not able to reach Mr. Livesey again.
The next day Botz informed Omni that she would not accept the assignment because it violated the FAR. On July 12, 2000, Omni directed Botz to attend a meeting where Omni informed her that her refusal was grounds for termination. Botz gave Omni Mr. Livesey's information and asked that they contact him. Botz explained that if Mr. Livesey indicated that the assignment did not violate the FAR, she would not refuse again. Omni told Botz they would take 72 hours to consider her request. On July 14, 2000, Omni contacted Botz and told her she had been discharged for insubordination and refusal to accept an assignment; this suit followed.
Omni brings this Motion to Dismiss contending that Minnesota's Whistleblower Statute is both expressly preempted by the Federal Aviation Act ("FAA") of 1958, 49 U.S.C. §§ 40101, et seq., as amended by the Airline Deregulation Act ("ADA") of 1978, 49 U.S.C. § 41713 (), and impliedly preempted by the Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act ("Ford Act"), 49 U.S.C. § 42121.
In considering a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), the court must take as true the allegations contained in the complaint. See Cooper v. Pate, 378 U.S. 546, 548, 84 S.Ct. 1733, 12 L.Ed.2d 1030 (1964) (per curiam). A complaint
must be viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff and should not be dismissed merely because the court doubts that a plaintiff will be able to prove all of the necessary factual allegations. "Thus, as a practical matter, a dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6) is likely to be granted only in the unusual case in which a plaintiff includes allegations that show on the face of the complaint that there is some insuperable bar to relief."
Fusco v. Xerox Corp., 676 F.2d 332, 334 (8th Cir.1982) (quoting Jackson Sawmill Co. v. United States, 580 F.2d 302, 306 (8th Cir.1978)). Viewing the complaint in this manner, the court may dismiss a case under Rule 12(b)(6) only if it is clear that no relief could be granted under any set of facts that could be proved consistent with the allegations in the complaint. See Hishon v. King & Spalding, 467 U.S. 69, 73, 104 S.Ct. 2229, 81 L.Ed.2d 59 (1984) (citing Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 45-46, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957)).
The doctrine of preemption is derived from the Supremacy Clause of Article VI, cl. 2, of the United States Constitution.2 The question of whether state law has been preempted by federal law requires an examination of congressional intent-being mindful of the presumption against preemption. Schneidewind v. ANR Pipeline Co., 485 U.S. 293, 299, 108 S.Ct. 1145, 99 L.Ed.2d 316 (1988); see also Wellons v. Northwest Airlines, Inc., 165 F.3d 493, 495 (6th Cir.1999). "Pre-emption may be either express or implied, and is compelled whether Congress' command is explicitly stated in the statute's language or implicitly contained in its structure and purpose." Fidelity Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass'n v. De la Cuesta, 458 U.S. 141, 152-53, 102 S.Ct. 3014, 73 L.Ed.2d 664 (1982) (internal quotations omitted).
According to Omni, Botz's enforcement of the Minnesota Whistleblower Statute is expressly preempted by § 41713(b)(1) of the FAA, which provides: "[A] State ... may not enact or enforce a law, regulation, or other provision having the force and effect of law related to a price, route, or service of an air carrier...." 49 U.S.C. § 41713(b)(1). The issue presented in this case is whether the Minnesota Whistleblower Statute, as applied to Botz's claim, would amount to the enforcement of a law "related to a service" of an air carrier.3 Id.
Omni asserts that Botz's claim is "related to a service" because the basis of Botz's refusal to perform was her understanding of the FAR. The section of the FAR that Botz has alleged would be violated — if she worked the round trip flight from Alaska to Japan — establishes a 20-hour maximum duty period for flight attendants, which was adopted to improve "cabin safety." (Compl.¶ 9.) Omni contends that "[t]he amount of time a flight attendant can be on duty undisputedly has a connection with or reference to an airline's routes and the services it provides its customers." (Def.'s Reply Mem. in Supp. of Mot to Dismiss at 4 ("Def.'s Reply Mem.").) The Court agrees, and finds Botz's argument, that her whistleblower claim is too tenuous and remote to be considered "related to" services, unpersuasive. (Pl.'s Mem. in Opp'n to Def.'s Mot to Dismiss at 6 ("Pl.'s Opp'n Mem.").)
The United States Supreme Court has held that the preemption clause of the FAA preempts state laws that have "a connection with or reference to airline rates, routes, or services."4 Morales v. Trans World Airlines, Inc., 504 U.S. 374, 384, 112 S.Ct. 2031, 119 L.Ed.2d 157 (1992). The Court stated that the ordinary meaning of the phrase "related to" is broadly defined as "to stand in some relation; to have bearing or concern; to pertain; refer; to bring into association with or connection with." Id. (quoting Black's Law Dictionary, 1158 (5th ed.1979)). The question before the Court in Morales was whether the enforcement of state law, prohibiting deceptive advertising by airlines, was "related to" airline rates, and within the preemptive scope of § 41713(b)(1). Morales, 504 U.S. at 389, 112 S.Ct. 2031. The Court found that the state law was sufficiently related to airline's rates to fall within the scope of the FAA's preemption, reasoning that restrictions on the advertising of airline rates would "serve to increase the difficulty of discovering the lowest cost seller ... and reduce the incentive to price competitively." Id. (citations omitted). The Supreme Court, therefore, applied a very broad reading of the term "related to."
The Supreme Court also addressed the breadth of the FAA's preemption in American Airlines, Inc. v. Wolens, 513 U.S. 219, 115 S.Ct. 817, 130 L.Ed.2d 715 (1995). In Wolens, the Court held that the FAA preempted the plaintiff's state Consumer Fraud Act claims, but did not preempt plaintiff's common-law contract claims. Id. at 228-29, 115 S.Ct. 817. With respect to the plaintiff's Consumer Fraud Act claims, the Court relied on its holding in Morales to find that the Act was preempted. Id. The Court reasoned that applying the Act to airlines amounted to a policing of the marketing practices of the airlines. Id. Accordingly, the Court held that the Act was related to the airlines' services. Id. The Court declined, however, to apply FAA preemption to plaintiff's breach of contract claim because the claim did not arise from a state-imposed obligation, as required for FAA preemption. See 49 U.S.C. § 41713(b)(1) (). Under Morales and Wolens, the term "related to a service" and the scope of FAA preemption are to be interpreted broadly by this Court.
Neither the Supreme Court, nor the Eighth Circuit, has specifically addressed the issue of whether a state whistleblower claim, based on an alleged violation of the FAA, is "related to" a service of an air carrier.5 The Court, therefore, must determine, using ...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Botz v. Omni Air Intern.
...of the FAR's duty-period restrictions would "seriously compromise the service that an air carrier provides." Botz v. Omni Air Int'l, 134 F.Supp.2d 1042, 1047 (D.Minn.2001). The court concluded that the plain language of § 41713(b)(1) pre-empted Botz's Turning to the evidence of congressiona......
-
Regner v. Northwest Airlines, Inc., C4-02-463.
...that interstate air carriers perform their services "with the highest possible degree of safety * * *." Botz v. Omni Air Int'l, 134 F.Supp.2d 1042, 1047 (D.Minn.2001) (quoting 49 U.S.C. § 44701(d)(1)(A)) (other quotation omitted), aff'd, 286 F.3d 488 (8th Cir.2002). The FAA was amended by t......