Cooper v. Tokyo Elec. Power Co.
| Decision Date | 22 May 2020 |
| Docket Number | No. 19-55295,19-55295 |
| Citation | 960 F.3d 549 |
| Parties | Lindsay R. COOPER; James R. Sutton; Kim Gieseking; Charles A. Yarris; Robert M. Miller; Christopher G. Bittner; Eric Membrila; Judy Goodwin ; Jennifer L. Micke; John W. Seelbach; Maurice D. Enis; Jaime L. Plym; Nathan J. Piekutowski; Carolyn A. White; Louie Viernes; Michael L. Sebourn; K.S., an infant by his father and natural guardian Michael L. Sebourn; Christian M. Ebueng; Paul J. Encinias; Daniel E. Hair; Adam W. Krutzler; David K. Malone; Robert Seligman; Eloi A. Whiteman; Jason D. Henry; Nellie Allen-Logan; Jami Beschorner; Nathan Canche; Nathan Criswell; Jason Troy Friel; Oscar Gonzalez; David Hahn; James Jackson; Jarrett Brady Johnston; Jonathan Medina; Adam Mintz; Mallory K. Morrow; William Netherton; Michelle Oden; Donald Rairigh; Christopher Rickard ; Andrew Rivera ; Steven Ray Simmons; Akeem Smith; Justin Spencer ; Alan Spurling; Angel Torres; Anthony Garcia; Jasmine Allen; Rhonda Anbert; Susan Ash; Adam Armenta; Jinky M.A., individually and as the Administrator of the Estate of Charliemagne T.A.; J.C.A., a minor by his mother as guardian ad litem Jinky M.A.; J.A., a minor by his mother as guardian ad litem Jinky M.A.; Dana Austin; Renar Awa; Josh Bane; Aramis Barrios; Trevor Beck; Markus Begay; Jordan Benoit; Jordan Bettencourt; Brett A. Bingham; Gunnar Borthick; Kenneth Cleo Boswell; James P. Bowen; Matthew Bradley; Nicolas Brewton; Nicolaus Brooks; Ryan S. Brown; Casey Brucklacher; Rebecca Brunet; Gerardo Bruing; Robin Calcaterra; Robby Canlas; Carlisi; Courtney Carmichael; Matthew Cartwright; Wayne Cassar; Fabian Cervantes; Melvin A. Chamberlain; Terance Chapman; William Chapman, Jr.; Annmarie Chessari; David Chitwood ; George Cobb ; Lori Lynn Cody; Keondice W. Cook; Angela Crabtree ; Chad Croft; Brian Cross ; Nicolas Crouch; Thomas Culberson; Vicent Curci; Honda Dagan; James Darnell; Janelle Darnell; Jason Dasilva; John Davis; Mark Decasa; Nichole M. Decatur; Martin Delgardillo; Tina Dibernardo; Brandon Dockery; J. D., a minor by his father as guardian ad litem Jeremy D.; Jeremy D.; Christian Doerr; Ian W. Dove; Jesse Dunn; Christina Duvall; Christian Joy Nagui Ebueng; Angel Escribano; Seth Eslin; Nicholas J. Feller; Kyle E. Felt; Teri Forza; Joel Fudge; Paul Gabby; Shane Gallagher; Zach Garner; John Oliver Gooch Iv; Kate Grace ; Jennifer Guana; M. H., a minor by Allison D. Eyring her mother as guardian ad litem; Andrew Hajny; Robert Harewood; Daniel Patrick Harren; Joshua Harrigan; Chad Harris ; Robert C. Hartage; Tiffany Hartman ; Nicholas Helmstadt; Ashton Hemphill; Erin Herring; Cora E. Hill; Chad Holt ; Neil Hopkins ; Dylan Imgram; Nick Inca; Jedidiah Irons; Gerardo Irving; Blake Isaacs; the Estate of Theodore H., by Manuel Leslie as the administrator of the estate of Theodore H; Joanna Iloilo; Darius Jackson; Jessica Jackson ; Christian A. Jessup; William Jones; Winston Jones ; Leon Julian; Charles D. Kaiser; Daniel Kregstein; Zackary Kube; Shane M. Langnes; Daniel Lawvier; Robert Lehrman ; Julian Leon; Mary Lokka; Nicole Look Fang; Alyssa Lopez; Zackery Louvers; Christopher Lowe; Alejandro Lusk; Cora Mae; Billy Markham; Alex Matin; Alfred McAllister; Dianna McCants; Thomas McCants; Cheneil McCarter; Tyler McDonald; Petina McIntosh; Ryan Menendez; Michael Mesigh; Samy Mohanie; Joel Monsalud; Leticia Morales; Kevin Morris; Colin Morrison; Timothy Muis; Jon Neumann ; Mark Newman; Daniel Olsen, Officer; Chad Yarbrough; Anthony J. Yovanovic; Jonathan Zavitz; William Zeller ; Michael Zitella; Mike Tisoy Orman; Christopher Peterson; Matthew Peterson ; Alyssa Petterway; Keith Pottratz; Daniel Pretto; Ashley Ramirez; Tyler Ray Randrup; Susan Rodriquez; Branden Rucker; W. Rushby; Erica Ryan ; David Sanchez; Dane Santo; Daisy M. Sarslow; Robert Seeligman; Benito G. Serentas, Jr.; Kelli Serio; Christopher Shamrell; Michael B. Shannon; Ryan Sivels; Joshua C. Smiley; Brandon Smith; Frances Fister Stoga; Byron Sy; Kelly Tannehill; Nigel Thompson; Chad Thorton; Michael Timko; Patricia Totemeier; James Trice ; Darrel Usry; Mark Valdez ; Osvaldo Vera; Kailee Victrum; Andrew Vodopija; Andrew Vrooman; Skyler Steven Warnock; Tawny Watson; Timothy J. Wendal; Ian Lee Wheaton; Tim White; Edward Joseph Wickle; Patrick Wight; Kristian William; Tim Woelky; Justin Wommack; Ronald Wright; Kiochi Yamazaki; A. G., an infant by her mother and natural guardian Kim Gieseking, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. TOKYO ELECTRIC POWER COMPANY HOLDINGS, INC., aka TEPCO; General Electric Company; Does, 1–200, inclusive, Defendants-Appellees. |
| Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit |
A. Cabral Bonner (argued) and Charles A. Bonner, Law Offices of Bonner & Bonner, Sausalito, California; John R. Edwards (argued) and Catharine E. Edwards, Edwards Kirby LLP, Raleigh, North Carolina; Paul C. Garner, Rancho Mirage, California; for Plaintiffs-Appellants.
Mark R. Yohalem (argued) and Gregory P. Stone, Munger Tolles & Olson LLP, Los Angeles, California, for Defendant-Appellee Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc.
David J. Weiner (argued) and Sally L. Pei, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP, Washington, D.C.; Michael D. Schissel, Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP, New York, New York; for Defendant-Appellee General Electric Company.
Before: A. Wallace Tashima, Kim McLane Wardlaw, and Jay S. Bybee, Circuit Judges.
In the aftermath of a massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP) was damaged. Hundreds of United States servicemembers, deployed to provide relief to the victims, allege that they were exposed to radiation from the FNPP. The plaintiffs, servicemembers and their families, brought suit in California for negligence and strict products liability against Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), the power plant's owner and operator, and General Electric Company (GE), the manufacturer of the plant's boiling water reactors.
This is the second time we have heard an appeal in this case. In 2017, we affirmed the district court's denial of TEPCO's motion to dismiss. Cooper v. Tokyo Elec. Power Co. , 860 F.3d 1193 (9th Cir. 2017) (" Cooper III "). On remand, GE and TEPCO both moved to dismiss. GE argued that Japanese law should apply to the case and that, under Japanese law, only the plant operator could be liable for injuries resulting from the power plant's failure. TEPCO argued for dismissal on international-comity grounds. The district court granted both motions to dismiss. We affirm.
In the early 1960s, the Japanese National Diet enacted legislation "to establish a basic system pertaining to compensation for damages in the case where nuclear damage has occurred in connection with the operation ... of a nuclear reactor" and to "provid[e] protection for injured parties and contribut[e] to the sound development of nuclear reactor operations." Act on Compensation for Nuclear Damage, Act No. 147, ch. I, art. 1 (June 17, 1961) (Compensation Act). The Compensation Act encouraged participation in Japan's nuclear industry while ensuring compensation for any persons injured through operation of nuclear power plants. Articles 3 and 4 of Chapter II of the Compensation Act provide that the operator of a nuclear plant is strictly liable for any damage caused by the operation of the power plant but that "no other person shall be liable to compensate for damages." Id. at ch. II, arts. 3–4. This is referred to as the "channeling provision."
These provisions, along with others that provide for the creation of a national insurance pool and financial backing from the Japanese government to fund compensation, work to facilitate recovery for accident victims by eliminating the need to prove fault and ensuring recovery of damages. Id . at ch. III, arts. 6–9.
On March 11, 2011, a 9.0-magnitude earthquake and massive tsunami struck Japan, causing enormous and widespread destruction.1 Some 15,000 people died. The FNPP was damaged by the earthquake and tsunami and released over 300 tons of contaminated water into the sea. In response to the disaster, the United States joined in a humanitarian relief effort known as "Operation Tomodachi." The day following the earthquake, the servicemember plaintiffs arrived off the coast of Fukushima on the U.S.S. Ronald Reagan and other vessels participating as part of the U.S. 7th Fleet's Reagan Strike Force.
Defendant TEPCO owns and operates the FNPP. After the FNPP meltdown, the Japanese government provided billions of dollars in financial support to TEPCO. It also developed a comprehensive scheme to deal with the thousands of claims resulting from the FNPP leak, giving claimants the option to submit a claim (1) directly to TEPCO, (2) to the newly established Nuclear Damage Claim Dispute Resolution Center, or (3) to a Japanese court. The plaintiffs, however, chose to sue in the Southern District of California. Subject matter jurisdiction was asserted under the district court's diversity jurisdiction. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(2).
The plaintiffs’ second amended complaint (SAC) alleged that TEPCO was negligent in operating and maintaining the FNPP. Six months later, the plaintiffs moved to amend their complaint to name GE and three other manufacturer defendants, claiming they had only recently learned of their involvement. Shortly thereafter, the district court granted in part TEPCO's motion to dismiss the SAC. It found that the plaintiffs’ claims were not barred by the political-question doctrine, forum non conveniens , or the doctrine of international comity, but granted the motion in part because the plaintiffs failed to state claims for strict design-defect liability and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Cooper v. Tokyo Elec. Power Co. , 2014 WL 5465347 (S.D. Cal. Oct. 28, 2014) ( Cooper I ). The court granted leave...
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