In re Global Santa Fe Corp.

• Decision Date: 19 December 2006
• Docket Number: No. 14-06-00625-CV.,14-06-00625-CV.
• Citation: 292 S.W.3d 68
• Parties: In re GLOBAL SANTA FE CORPORATION, Relator.
• Court: Texas Court of Appeals

292 S.W.3d 68

In re GLOBAL SANTA FE CORPORATION, Relator.

No. 14-06-00625-CV.

Court of Appeals of Texas, Houston (14th Dist.).

December 19, 2006.

John B. Hall, Houston, for appellant.

John Milton Black, Houston, for appellee.

Panel consists of Chief Justice ADELE HEDGES, Justices YATES and SEYMORE.

OPINION

ADELE HEDGES, Chief Justice.

In this original proceeding, relator GlobalSantaFe Corporation ("GSF") challenges an order signed by respondent, the Honorable Tracy Christopher, presiding judge of the 295th Judicial District Court, the silica multidistrict litigation pretrial court ("MDL pretrial court"), in which real party's Jones Act claims were remanded to the 55th Judicial District Court of Harris County. GSF claims that the MDL pretrial court must retain the case pursuant to chapter 90 of Texas's Civil Practice and Remedies Code. For the reasons set forth below, we deny GSF's petition for a writ of mandamus.

BACKGROUND

On May 29, 2003, real party in interest John Lopez filed his Jones Act¹ claims in the 55th District Court against GSF, alleging that it had failed to provide a safe and seaworthy vessel, resulting in his exposure to silica.

On December 5, 2005, GSF filed a "Notice of Transfer under Section 90.010(b)," whereby Lopez's case was transferred to the MDL pretrial court.² See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem.Code Ann. § 90.010(b) (Vernon Supp.2006); Tex.R. Jud. Admin. 13.11(c), reprinted in Tex. Gov't Code Ann., tit. 2, subtit. F app. (Vernon Supp. 2006). Lopez filed a motion to remand and, in his pleadings, argued that the case should be remanded to the 55th District Court because section 90.010 was preempted by the Jones Act. GSF argued that because the MDL rules applied to all silica related claims, they all were to be transferred to the MDL pretrial court.

A hearing was held on Lopez's motion in the MDL pretrial court. His counsel argued that by transferring the case to the MDL pretrial court, Lopez is required to provide an expert report complying with the provisions of chapter 90; the report requirement is a substantive one not found in the Jones Act; therefore, the provisions of chapter 90 are preempted by the federal law. GSF, in contrast, characterized the issue as one of venue. Arguing that the provisions by which Lopez's case was transferred to the MDL pretrial court are merely procedural provisions, GSF asserted that federal law did not preempt the state's procedural provision. After Judge Christopher signed an order on January 10, 2006, remanding the case to the 55th District Court, GSF filed its petition for writ of mandamus in this court.³

MANDAMUS STANDARD OF REVIEW

Under the MDL rules, an order or judgment of the pretrial court may be reviewed by the appellate court regularly reviewing orders of the court in which the case is pending at the time review is sought. See Tex.R. Jud. Admin. 13.9(b); see, e.g., In re Fluor Enters., Inc., 186 S.W.3d 639, 642 (Tex.App.-Austin 2006, orig. proceeding [mand. denied]) (concluding that the intermediate appellate court had mandamus jurisdiction to review an order of the MDL pretrial court under rule 13.9(b)); In re Union Carbide Corp., 145 S.W.3d 805, 806-07 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2004, orig. proceeding) (reviewing order of MDL pretrial court in mandamus proceeding).

Mandamus is an extraordinary remedy that will issue to correct a clear abuse of discretion and, generally, only when the relator lacks an adequate appellate remedy. See In re Nitla S.A. de C.V., 92 S.W.3d 419, 422 (Tex.2002). A clear failure to correctly analyze or apply the law constitutes an abuse of discretion. Walker v. Packer, 827 S.W.2d 833, 840 (Tex.1992). Accordingly, we review the remand order under an abuse of discretion standard. See In re Fluor, 186 S.W.3d at 643.

To determine whether a party has an adequate remedy by appeal, we balance jurisprudential considerations implicating both public and private interests. In re Prudential Ins. Co. of Am., 148 S.W.3d 124, 136 (Tex.2004). When the benefits of mandamus review outweigh its detriments, appellate courts must consider whether the appellate remedy is adequate. Id. GSF contends that it has no adequate remedy by appeal because "[o]nce the pretrial phase of the case is over, and trial has occurred, [GSF] will have lost the benefits of efficiency and fairness conveyed by Section 90."

DISCUSSION

In its mandamus petition, GSF argues that the remand order is an abuse of discretion because (1) it is contrary to the express language of section 90.010 and (2) the MDL pretrial court misinterpreted federal preemption law.

At issue here is Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code section 90.010(b), which enables a defendant, in a suit for personal injury or death resulting from asbestos or silica exposure, to file a notice of transfer to the MDL pretrial court should the claimant fail to serve an expert report that complies with the statute. See Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem.Code Ann. § 90.010 (Vernon Supp.2006). The Jones Act, in contrast, does not contain a report requirement.

GSF characterizes section 90.010(b) and the related MDL rules as venue provisions and argues that because federal law is not concerned with venue, section 90.010(b) is not preempted by the Jones Act. GSF contends that, even if section 90.010 provisions are substantive, Congress has not explicitly or implicitly occupied the field; therefore, we must give effect to the procedural portions of chapter 90⁴ because they do not conflict with federal law. GSF also asserts that whether the report provisions in chapter 90 are preempted under the Jones Act is premature because section 90.010(b) is the only provision applied to Lopez's claims at this point. It states that many of the chapter's provisions will not apply to Lopez's suit because it was filed before September 1, 2003; GSF concedes, however, that "the Jones Act probably preempts the portion of Section 90.010 that imposes a `minimum injury' requirement on silica plaintiffs." Further, GSF contends that some of the report requirements merely dictate the way in which a plaintiff must prove the reliability of his expert, similar to Rule of Evidence 702.

Lopez argues that chapter 90 is preempted by the Jones Act because the statute substantially impairs the substantive rights of Jones Act plaintiffs and precludes a uniform application of the federal maritime law. He asserts that Jones Act plaintiffs transferred to the MDL pre-trial court pursuant to chapter 90 are held there in "suspended animation" without a remedy until complying with the minimum injury, reporting, and causation requirements set out in chapter 90, requirements not found in the Jones Act. He also contends that the report requirements under chapter 90 directly conflict with the negligence standard for recovery under the Jones Act.

We must decide whether transfer to the MDL pretrial court, pursuant to the provisions of chapter 90, of Lopez's Jones Act claims is precluded by the preemption doctrine. This is an issue of first impression, chapter 90 having been only recently enacted.⁵ We begin with preemption analysis under maritime law.

GSF frames its preemption argument as follows: (1) courts must be reluctant to find preemption; (2) because Congress has not intended to "occupy the field" in this area, preemption should be found only if it is impossible to comply with both the state and federal laws, that is, if they "conflict"; and (3) the provisions here do not conflict with the Jones Act. Therefore, GSF reasons chapter 90's procedural provisions must be enforced.

1. Preemption

Congressional intent determines whether a federal statute preempts state law. Gade v. Nat'l Solid Wastes Mgmt. Ass'n, 505 U.S. 88, 96, 112 S.Ct. 2374, 120 L.Ed.2d 73 (1992); Am. Cyanamid Co. v. Geye, 79 S.W.3d 21, 23-24 (Tex.2002). "The purpose of Congress is the ultimate touchstone" and is discerned by examining the statute's language, its structure, and its purpose. Gade, 505 U.S. at 96, 112 S.Ct. 2374. We must determine whether the state law is "consistent with the structure and purpose of the [federal] statute as a whole .... and to its object and policy.'" Id. at 98, 112 S.Ct. 2374.

Generally, absent express preemptive language, preemption may be implied if the statute's scope indicates congressional intent to "occupy the field" or when the state law actually conflicts with the federal statute. Am. Cyanamid Co. 79 S.W.3d at 24. GSF recites this preemption principle, asserting that federal law is not concerned with a state's procedural rules. However, whether procedural or substantive, a state's law will be preempted when it interferes or restricts remedies under a federal statute. See Felder v. Casey, 487 U.S. 131, 138, 108 S.Ct. 2302, 101 L.Ed.2d 123 (1988). "[W]here state courts entertain a federally created cause of action, the `federal right cannot be defeated by the forms of local practice.'" Id. (quoting Brown v. Western Ry. Co. of Ala., 338 U.S. 294, 296, 70 S.Ct. 105, 94 L.Ed. 100, (1949)). The Supreme Court stated in Gade:

We can no longer adhere to the aberrational doctrine ... that state law may frustrate the operation of federal law as long as the state legislature in passing its law had some purpose in mind other than one of frustration .... such a doctrine would enable state legislatures to nullify nearly all unwanted federal legislation by simply publishing a legislative committee report articulating some state interest or policy — other than frustration of the federal objective — that would be tangentially furthered by the proposed state law.... Any state legislation which frustrates the full effectiveness of federal law is rendered invalid by the Supremacy Clause.

505 U.S. at 106-07, 112 S.Ct. 2374 (quoting Perez v. Campbell, 402 U.S. 637, 651-52, 91 S.Ct. 1704, 29 L.Ed.2d 233 (1971)).

2. Jones Act

The Jones Act provides a cause of action for a seaman injured in the course of his employment by the negligence of his employer. See 46...