On January 28, 1998, WLF filed a brief urging the Court to affirm a decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit dismissing a products liability action against a recreational boat manufacturer. The lower court held that the plaintiffs’ state law claim, which was based on the theory that a recreational boat was defective because it was not equipped with a propeller guard, was preempted by the Federal Boat Safety Act (“FBSA”), a federal statute which gives the U.S. Coast Guard authority to create uniform national standards for safe boat design and manufacture. WLF argued that the FBSA broadly preempts any state “law or regulation,” “safety standard,” or “requirement for associated equipment,” that is not identical to a requirement imposed by the Coast Guard. WLF argued that Congress clearly intended to preempt state tort law claims that would impose common law requirements on manufacturers beyond those imposed by the Coast Guard.
