General Motors Corp. v. Kilgore

• Decision Date: 20 December 2002
• Parties: GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION v. Charles W. KILGORE et al.
• Court: Alabama Supreme Court

853 So.2d 171

GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION v. Charles W. KILGORE et al.

1002149.

Supreme Court of Alabama.

December 20, 2002.

Frank E. Lankford, Jr., of Huie, Fernambucq & Stewart, L.L.P., Birmingham, for appellant.

Martin K. Berks of Environmental Attorneys Group, L.L.C., Birmingham, for appellees.

BROWN, Justice.

General Motors Corporation ("GMC") appeals from the Colbert Circuit Court's denial of its motion for a summary judgment in this wrongful-death action. This Court granted GMC's petition for a permissive appeal pursuant to Rule 5, Ala. R.App. P. We reverse the summary judgment and render a judgment for GMC.

I. Factual Background and Procedural History

On June 11, 1999, Charles W. Kilgore and Sandra Kilgore Holmes, as coexecutors of the estate of their father, William Austin Kilgore (hereinafter referred to as "decedent"), and Kathyrine E. Kilgore, individually and as the dependent widow of the decedent (hereinafter collectively referred to as the "Kilgores"), filed a wrongful-death action against GMC in the Colbert Circuit Court. The Kilgores alleged that the decedent, who died on June 12, 1997, of mesothelioma as a result of exposure at his workplace to products containing asbestos manufactured by GMC. Specifically, the Kilgores claim that GMC breached its duty under the Alabama Extended Manufacturer's Liability Doctrine (hereinafter "the AEMLD")¹ to provide reasonably safe products and that it breached its duty to inform the decedent of the hazards of exposure to asbestos.

The Kilgores' claims are based on the decedent's alleged exposure to asbestos products during his employment with Norfolk Southern Railroad Company from 1941 through 1983. The Kilgores maintain that while he was employed with Norfolk Southern the decedent was exposed to asbestos-containing components of locomotives manufactured by GMC.

GMC moved for a summary judgment on the ground that the Kilgores' claims were preempted by the Federal Locomotive Inspection Act ("FLIA").² The trial court denied the motion for a summary judgment. In accordance with Rule 5(a), Ala. R.App. P., we granted GMC permission to appeal the trial court's denial of summary judgment.

II. Standard of Review

"We review this case de novo, applying the oft-stated principles governing appellate review of a trial court's grant or denial of a summary judgment motion:

"`We apply the same standard of review the trial court used in determining whether the evidence presented to the trial court created a genuine issue of material fact. Once a party moving for a summary judgment establishes that no genuine issue of material fact exists, the burden shifts to the nonmovant to present substantial evidence creating a genuine issue of material fact. "Substantial evidence" is "evidence of such weight and quality that fair-minded persons in the exercise of impartial judgment can reasonably infer the existence of the fact sought to be proved." In reviewing a summary judgment, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmovant and entertain such reasonable inferences as the jury would have been free to draw.'"

American Liberty Ins. Co. v. AmSouth Bank, 825 So.2d 786, 790 (Ala.2002) (quoting Nationwide Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co. v. DPF Architects, P.C., 792 So.2d 369, 372 (Ala.2000) (citations omitted)).

III. The FLIA's Preemption of the Kilgores' Claims

GMC contends that the Kilgores' claims are preempted by federal law. Thus, we must determine whether the FLIA preempts state common-law claims against a locomotive manufacturer. In United Transportation Union v. Foster, 205 F.3d 851 (5th Cir.2000), the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit succinctly laid out the general principles of preemption. The court stated:

"The Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the United States Constitution provides Congress with the power to preempt state law. See U.S. Const. art VI, cl. 2. The Supreme Court has instructed federal courts that the historic police powers of the states are not to be superceded by federal law unless `that was the clear and manifest purpose of Congress.' Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp., 331 U.S. 218, 230, 67 S.Ct. 1146, 91 L.Ed. 1447 (1947). In Louisiana Public Service Commission v. FCC, 476 U.S. 355, 106 S.Ct. 1890, 90 L.Ed.2d 369 (1986), the Supreme Court detailed the circumstances when a finding of preemption is appropriate:

"`Preemption occurs when Congress, in enacting a federal statute, expresses a clear intent to preempt state law, when there is outright or actual conflict between federal and state law, where compliance with both federal and state law is in effect physically impossible, where there is implicit in federal law a barrier to state regulation, where Congress has legislated comprehensively, thus occupying an entire field of regulation and leaving no room for the states to supplement federal law, or where the state law stands as an obstacle to the accomplishment and execution of the full objectives of Congress. Preemption may result not only from action taken by Congress itself; a federal agency acting within the scope of its congressionally delegated authority may preempt state regulation.'

"476 U.S. at 368-69, 106 S.Ct. 1890 (citations omitted). In any case, `[t]he critical question is whether Congress intended that federal regulations supersede state law.' Id. at 369, 106 S.Ct. 1890."

205 F.3d at 859 (emphasis added).

With regard to the FLIA, we note that "promotion of national uniformity in locomotive-safety regulation was ... one of the primary goals of the FLIA and its predecessor, the Boiler Inspection Act." Norfolk Southern Ry. v. Benson, 774 So.2d 549, 553 (2000). Moreover, "[i]t has long been settled that Congress intended federal law to occupy the field of locomotive equipment and safety, particularly as it relates to injuries suffered by railroad workers in the course of their employment." Law v. General Motors Corp., 114 F.3d 908, 910 (9th Cir.1997) (emphasis added).

As this Court noted in Denson, supra, the seminal case establishing the FLIA's preemptive effect is Napier v. Atlantic Coast Line R.R., 272 U.S. 605, 47 S.Ct. 207, 71 L.Ed. 432 (1926). In Napier, the United States Supreme Court addressed "whether the Boiler Inspection Act ... occupied the field of regulating locomotive equipment used on a highway of interstate commerce, so as to preclude state legislation." 272 U.S. at 607,47 S.Ct. 207. Napier involved two appeals for actions challenging a Georgia statute that required that fire boxes on locomotives be equipped with an automatic door and a Wisconsin statute that required locomotives to have a cab curtain. Locomotive carriers sought to enjoin state officials from enforcing a state law that prohibited the use within that state of locomotives not equipped with the prescribed devices. See 272 U.S. at 607-08,47 S.Ct. 207.

In Napier, the Supreme Court noted that in 1911 when it was originally enacted the Boiler Inspection Act ("BIA") applied only to locomotive boilers. However, in 1915 the provisions of the BIA were extended to "`include the entire locomotive and tender and all parts and appurtenances thereof.'" 272 U.S. at 608, 47 S.Ct. 207. In addition, the Supreme Court noted that Congress had given regulatory power over locomotives and their equipment conferred under the BIA to the Interstate Commerce Commission and that the Commission had not imposed any regulations requiring either of the safety devices prescribed by the state statutes.³ Id. The Court acknowledged that the devices required to be placed on locomotives by the Georgia and Wisconsin statutes were primarily for the safety and health of the locomotive operators, but held that the requirements came within the scope of the authority delegated to the commission. See 272 U.S. at 612-13, 47 S.Ct. 207. The Court held: "The fact that the Commission has not seen fit to exercise its authority to the full extent conferred, has no bearing upon the construction of the act delegating the power.... [T]he Boiler Inspection Act... was intended to occupy the field.... [R]equirements by the states are precluded, however commendable ... their purpose." 272 U.S. at 613, 47 S.Ct. 207. Ten years later, the Supreme Court again discussed the scope of the BIA, stating that it encompasses "[w]hatever in fact is an integral or essential part of a completed locomotive, and all parts or attachments definitely prescribed by lawful order of the [Secretary of Transportation]." Southern Ry. v. Lunsford, 297 U.S. 398, 402, 56 S.Ct. 504, 80 L.Ed. 740 (1936); see also Oglesby v. Delaware & Hudson Ry., 180 F.3d 458, 461 (2d Cir.1999).

Later, in Law v. General Motors Corp., supra,

the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that state common-law actions against locomotive manufacturers were preempted under the FLIA. In explaining the effect of FLIA preemption on state common-law actions, the court stated:

"This broad preemptive sweep is necessary to maintain uniformity of railroad operating standards across state lines. Locomotives are designed to travel long distances, with most railroad routes wending through interstate commerce. The virtue of uniform national regulation `is self-evident: locomotive companies need only concern themselves with one set of equipment regulations and need not be prepared to remove or add equipment as they travel from state to state.' ... Any state law that undermines this regime is preempted by the BIA.

"... [C]ommon-law claims fall squarely within this preempted field. Apart from compensating victims of accidents for their injuries, the purpose of tort liability is to induce defendants to conform their conduct to a standard of care established by the state."

Law, 114 F.3d at 910. The court then explained why FLIA preemption applies not only to common-law actions against locomotive operators, but also to common-law actions against locomotive manufacturers:

"A railroad equipment manufacturer found to have

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