Law v. General Motors Corp.

• Decision Date: 05 June 1997
• Docket Number: No. 95-16391,95-16391
• Citation: 114 F.3d 908
• Parties: Prod.Liab.Rep. (CCH) P 14,970, 97 Cal. Daily Op. Serv. 4239, 97 Daily Journal D.A.R. 7115 Larry LAW; Del Mar McCutchen; Michael Barnes; Joseph Bowman; Albert Thompson; Andrew Curtis; Alan Fenton; Dennis Ross, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION; General Electric, Defendants-Appellees.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Ninth Circuit

Page 908

114 F.3d 908

Prod.Liab.Rep. (CCH) P 14,970, 97 Cal. Daily Op.

Serv. 4239,

97 Daily Journal D.A.R. 7115

Larry LAW; Del Mar McCutchen; Michael Barnes; Joseph Bowman; Albert Thompson; Andrew Curtis; Alan Fenton; Dennis Ross, Plaintiffs-Appellants, v. GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION; General Electric, Defendants-Appellees.

No. 95-16391.

United States Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit.

Argued and Submitted Nov. 5, 1996.

Decided June 5, 1997.

Paul F. Bennett, Gold, Bennett & Cera, San Francisco, California, for plaintiffs-appellants.

David M. Heilbron, Christopher B. Hockett, McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen; Frederick D. Baker, Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold, San Francisco, California, for defendants-appellees.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California; Saundra B. Armstrong, District Judge, Presiding. D.C. No. CV-94-03585-SBA.

Before: NORRIS, KOZINSKI and TASHIMA, Circuit Judges.

OPINION

KOZINSKI, Circuit Judge.

We decide whether the Boiler Inspection Act (BIA), 49 U.S.C. §§ 20701-20903, preempts state common-law remedies against railroad manufacturers for injuries arising out of alleged design defects in their trains.

I

Appellants are eight railroad workers who claim that their hearing was severely damaged by excessive noise. In addition to the usual bells and whistles, appellants were exposed to bursts of sound, often exceeding 120 decibels, from locomotive brakes and engines. They claim that defendants--the industry leaders in locomotive manufacturing--defectively designed these components, failed to properly insulate their work-stations and failed to warn them of any risk to their hearing. Appellants make various state-law claims, including strict liability in tort, negligence, failure to warn, breach of implied warranty, and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress.

The district court granted defendants' motion to dismiss, concluding that these claims were preempted by the BIA. Appellants contend the district court erred on two scores: first, that the BIA only preempts direct state regulation of railroad safety, not common-law tort liability; and second, that the BIA only preempts suits against railroad operators, not manufacturers.

II

The Supremacy Clause empowers Congress to supplant decentralized, state-by-state regulation with uniform national rules. See U.S. Const. art. VI, cl. 2. Given the importance of federalism in our constitutional structure, however, we entertain a strong presumption that federal statutes do not preempt state laws; particularly those laws directed at subjects--like health and safety--"traditionally governed" by the states. CSX Transp., Inc. v. Easterwood, 507 U.S. 658, 664, 113 S.Ct. 1732, 1737, 123 L.Ed.2d 387 (1993). "Thus, pre-emption will not lie unless it is 'the clear and manifest purpose of Congress.' " Id. (quoting Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp., 331 U.S. 218, 230, 67 S.Ct. 1146, 1152, 91 L.Ed. 1447 (1947)).

The first stone we turn in evaluating Congress's intent to preempt state laws regulating the safety of railroad equipment is the language of the statute:

A railroad carrier may use or allow to be used a locomotive or tender on its railroad line only when the locomotive or tender and its parts and appurtenances--

(1) are in proper condition and safe to operate without unnecessary danger of personal injury;

(2) have been inspected as required under this chapter and regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Transportation under this chapter; and

(3) can withstand every test prescribed by the Secretary under this chapter.

49 U.S.C. § 20701. Although the BIA says nothing about its preemptive effect, state laws touching upon the safety of locomotive "parts and appurtenances" are nevertheless preempted if they fall within a field "Congress intended the Federal Government to occupy exclusively." English v. General Elec. Co., 496 U.S. 72, 79, 110 S.Ct. 2270, 2275, 110 L.Ed.2d 65 (1990).

It 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. Congress passed the first iteration of the BIA in 1911, see Feb. 17, 1911, ch. 103, 36 stat. 913, § 2, and by 1926 the Supreme Court had announced its broad preemptive reach. In Napier v. Atlantic Coast Line R.R., 272 U.S. 605, 47 S.Ct. 207, 71 L.Ed. 432 (1926), the Court considered a preemption challenge to a Georgia law that required all trains operating in the state to have an automatic fire door and a cab curtain. The Court invalidated these regulations, holding that the BIA preempts every state law that would manipulate "the design, the construction and the material of every part of the locomotive and tender and of all appurtenances." Id. at 611, 47 S.Ct. at 209.

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." Southern Pac. Transp. Co. v. Oregon PUC, 9 F.3d 807, 811 (9th Cir.1993); see also R.J. Corman R.R. v. Palmore, 999 F.2d 149, 152 (6th Cir.1993) ("Th[e] lasting history of pervasive and uniquely-tailored congressional action indicates Congress's general intent that railroads should be regulated primarily on a national level through an integrated network of federal law."). Any state law that undermines this regime is preempted by the BIA.

Appellants' common-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. See San Diego Bldg. Trades Council v. Garmon, 359 U.S. 236, 247, 79 S.Ct. 773, 780-81, 3 L.Ed.2d 775 (1959) ("The obligation to pay compensation can be, indeed is designed to be, a potent method of governing conduct and controlling policy."). A railroad equipment manufacturer found to have negligently designed a braking system, for example, is expected to modify that system to reduce the risk of injury. If the manufacturer fails to mend its ways, its negligence may be adjudged willful in the next case, prompting a substantial punitive damages award. If each state were to adopt different liability-triggering standards, manufacturers would have to sell locomotives and cars whose equipment could be changed as they crossed state lines, or adhere to the standard set by the most stringent state. Either way, Congress's goal of uniform, federal railroad regulation would be undermined. See id. ("Even the States' salutary effort to redress private wrongs or grant compensation for past harm cannot be exerted to regulate activities that are potentially subject to the exclusive federal regulatory scheme.").

Marshall v. Burlington Northern, Inc., 720 F.2d 1149 (9th Cir.1983), confirms our conclusion. In Marshall, the widow of a motorist killed in a collision with a train brought a wrongful death action against the railroad, alleging that the locomotive's lights inadequately warned of its approach. At the time of the accident, the train's warning systems were in full compliance with BIA standards. We reversed the jury's negligence verdict, holding that "the state may not impose liability for failure to install a part or attachment of a locomotive if it is 'within the scope of the authority delegated to the [Secretary]' to prescribe the same part or attachment." Id. at 1152 (quoting Napier, 272 U.S. at 611, 47 S.Ct. at 209).

There is no doubt that the Secretary of Transportation has authority to regulate the design of the parts appellants claim are defective. The Secretary has promulgated highly detailed regulations establishing maximum levels of locomotive cab noise, see 49 C.F.R. § 229.121; sound-levels and placement requirements for bells and whistles, see id. § 229.129; and design requirements for locomotive brakes, engines and body structures. See id. §§ 229.46, 229.101 & 229.141. Appellants nevertheless argue that locomotive manufacturers could escape liability without deviating from federal standards by requiring workers to wear protective headgear or posting warnings. But each of these remedies implicates the BIA as well. The Federal Railroad Administration, in consultation with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, has exclusive authority to determine whether locomotive operators may wear protective headgear; a decision wisely reserved to an expert federal agency qualified to weigh the value of safety equipment against "the alertness of employees to rail transportation hazards affecting the employees, passengers and the general public along the right-of-way." 43 Fed.Reg. 10583, 10588 (1978). As for warning requirements, these too are within the scope of the Secretary's authority--an authority which the Secretary has often invoked. See, e.g., 49 C.F.R. §§ 210.27(d)(3) (labeling requirement for wayside noise levels); 215.9(a)(3) (warning posted on defective freight cars); 229.85 (warning notices for high voltage equipment); 229.113 (warning notices for steam generators). Marshall dictates that these claims must give way to federal standards. 720 F.2d at 1152. ¹

III

Appellants nevertheless argue that their claims are not preempted because they are directed against railroad equipment manufacturers, not operators. This distinction--founded on the fact that the BIA speaks only to "railroad carrier[s]" and not manufacturers, see 49 U.S.C. § 20701--is without significance. The BIA preempts any state action that would affect "the design, the construction, and the material"...