PLAC files amicus brief addressing whether Federal Motor Vehicle Standard 208 preempted state common law product liability claim

Client(s) Product Liability Advisory Council

On behalf of the Product Liability Advisory Council (PLAC), Jones Day prepared and submitted an amicus brief to the United States Supreme Court to address whether Federal Motor Vehicle Standard 208 preempted state common law product liability claim. FMVSS 208 gave Mazda the option of installing a lap belt for the passenger sitting in the middle row, aisle seat of a 1993 minivan. The plaintiffs allege that Mazda was negligent and defectively designed the minivan because it did not install a lap-shoulder belt for that seat. The California appellate court held that FMVSS 208 preempted the state law tort claims. PLAC's amicus brief urges the United States Supreme Court to affirm. It argues that plaintiff's state law claims, if allowed, would conflict with, and frustrate the purposes of, FMVSS 208, which deliberately chose to give auto manufacturers the option to use a lap belt only in that seating position.