Preemption & the Supremacy Clause

In re Federal-Mogul Global

402 B.R. 625 (D.Del.,2009)

Preemption Doctrine is rooted in the Supremacy Clause

Preemption doctrine is rooted in the Supremacy Clause. See U.S. Const., art. VI, cl. 2 ("This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof ... shall be the supreme law of the land."). Under the doctrine, a state law yields to a federal law in any case where the state law either contravenes or interferes with the stated purpose of the federal law. See Hillsborough County, Fla. v. Automated Med. Labs., Inc., 471 U.S. 707, 712, 105 S.Ct. 2371, 85 L.Ed.2d 714 (1985) (citing Gibbons v. Ogden, 22 U.S. (9 Wheat) 1, 211, 6 L.Ed. 23 (1824)). Thus, "the purpose of Congress is the ultimate touchstone" in preemption analysis. See Retail Clerks Intern. Ass'n, Local 1625, AFL-CIO v. Schermerhorn, 375 U.S. 96, 103, 84 S.Ct. 219, 11 L.Ed. 179 (1963). That purpose or intent is "primarily discerned from the language of the statute, and the statutory framework surrounding it." Medtronic, Inc., v. Lohr, 518 U.S. 470, 486, 116 S.Ct. 2240, 135 L.Ed.2d 700 (1996) (quoting Gade v. Nat'l Solid Wastes Mgmt. Ass'n, 505 U.S. 88, 111, 112 S.Ct. 2374, 120 L.Ed.2d 73 (1992) (Kennedy, J., concurring in part and concurring in judgment)). Notably, preemption applies in three distinct cases: 1) when Congress explicitly states its intention to preempt state law (express preemption); 2) when federal and state law cannot be harmoniously read together because they are in direct conflict (conflict preemption); and (3) when Congress legislates in a comprehensive manner so as to solely occupy a particular area of the law (field preemption). Kehm Oil Co. v. Texaco, Inc., 537 F.3d 290, 298 (3d Cir.2008) (citations omitted).

Scope of Express Preemption

[9] [10] Two principles inform the Court's judgment with respect to the preemptive scope inquiry. Medtronic, Inc. v. Lohr, 518 U.S. 470, 485, 116 S.Ct. 2240, 135 L.Ed.2d 700 (1996). First, there is a longstanding presumption against the preemption of state police power regulations. Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc., 505 U.S. 504, 518, 112 S.Ct. 2608, 120 L.Ed.2d 407 (1992). Any preemption analysis must start with the "assumption that the historic police powers of the States [are] not to be superseded ... unless that was a clear and manifest purpose of Congress." See Altria Group, Inc. v. Good, 555 U.S. 70, 129 S.Ct. 538, 543, 172 L.Ed.2d 398 (2008) (quoting Rice v. Santa Fe Elevator Corp., 331 U.S. 218, 230, 67 S.Ct. 1146, 91 L.Ed. 1447 (1947)). Nevertheless, preemption may still apply even if the law at issue is a "matter of special concern to the States". Fid. Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass'n v. de la Cuesta, 458 U.S. 141, 152, 102 S.Ct. 3014,