Nearly 25 years ago, the first brief that Public Justice (then Trial Lawyers for Public Justice) filed in the U.S. Supreme Court opposed federal preemption of an injury victim's claim. It urged the Supreme Court to hold that Karen Silkwood could seek punitive damages against the Kerr-McGee Corporation for contaminating her with plutonium even though the company had complied with the federal government's regulations governing the safety of nuclear power plants. The Supreme Court agreed, 5 to 4.
Since that time, Public Justice's Federal Preemption Project has preserved the rights of millions of Americans to hold corporate wrongdoers accountable for the injuries. Among other victories, we won a unanimous United States Supreme Court ruling upholding an injury victim's right to sue a manufacturer for failing to install propeller guards on its recreational motor boat engines. We have also fought preemption for years in cases involving medical devices, prescription drugs, motor vehicle safety, flammable fabrics, and mandatory arbitration, to name but a few.
Despite these victories, companies seeking to avoid responsibility for their conduct are advancing the federal preemption defense with more vigor than ever. Worse yet, a new spate of Supreme Court cases underscores the huge threat posed by federal preemption - and the importance of fighting it with every means at our disposal. Just this term, the Supreme Court shocked the legal world by granting review in four cases involving federal preemption of consumer products.
The first of these cases - Riegel v. Medtronic, which involves defective medical devices that have received "pre-market" approval from the federal FDA - has already been decided adversely to the plaintiffs. The second case -- Warner-Lambert v. Kent -- was just decided in a 4-to-4 ruling that left undisturbed the decision below, which upheld a provision of Michigan statute that all drug companies to be sued in cases where they committed fraud on the FDA in obtaining the drug's approval. The remaining two cases -- Altria v. Good and Wyeth v. Levine -- could have an dramatic impact on the ability of victims of inadequately labeled prescription drugs and so-called "light" cigarettes to seek compensation for their injuries. Public Justice filed amicus curiae briefs in all four cases, urging the Court to reject the unwarranted and overbroad preemption arguments that are being advanced by corporate America. Altria and Wyeth should be decided by year's end.
This is a battle that we have already joined, and we believe that it is of utmost importance that we continue to fight for the right outcome. Look for our briefs in Riegel v. Medtronic, Wyeth v. Levine, Warner-Lambert v. Kent, and Altria v. Good on our website, http://www.publicjustice.net/.