32 ELR 20568 -- Netland v. Hess & Clark, Inc.

Netland v. Hess & Clark, Inc.

No. 01-2182 (284 F.3d 895) (UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT March 26, 2002)

ELR Digest

The court holds that all of an individual's claims for damages are based on a pesticide's label and are, therefore, preempted by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). After applying the pesticide to his horses over a six-week period, the individual developed acquired aplastic anemia that necessitated large doses of steroids, blood transfusions, and a hip replacement. The individual sued the pesticide manufacturer claiming damages for the injuries resulting from the use of the pesticide on his horses. The court first holds that the individual's state-law failure to warn and breach of warranty claims were preempted by FIFRA. In the past, the court has held that once a label is approved, FIFRA expressly provides a defense, arising from preemption, against certain state-law claims. Thus, in spite of U.S. Supreme Court case law and state court decisions to the contrary, the law of the circuit remains until modified or overruled by the Eighth Circuit en banc. The court also holds that the individual's claim for defective design was actually a claim to the pesticide's label, and, therefore, preempted by FIFRA. Contrary to the individual's suggestion, an expert did not testify that a chemical in the pesticide made it defective or unreasonably dangerous. Rather, the expert testified that the pesticide is a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-registered and -approved product that can be safely used under appropriate circumstances, but that the expert personally uses an alternative pesticide when spraying his own horses.

The full text of this decision is available from ELR (9 pp., ELR Order No. L-479).

Counsel for Appellant
Robert J. Feigh
Hall & Byers
1010 W. St. Germain, Ste. 600, St. Cloud MN 56301
(320) 252-4414

Counsel for Appellee
Mark J. Carpenter
Faegre & Benson
90 S. 7th St., Minneapolis MN 55402
(612) 766-7000

[OPINION OMITTED BY PUBLISHER IN ORIGINAL SOURCE]