Sun Valley Packing v. Consep, Inc.

The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) is a comprehensive statutory scheme that regulates the use, sales and labeling of all pesticides sold in the United States. ( 7 U.S.C. § 136 et seq.) FIFRA expressly prohibits states from imposing “any requirements for labeling or packaging in addition to or different from those required” under the act. (7 U.S.C. § 136v(b).) Consequently, any state law claim that effectively requires a manufacturer to include different or additional information on a pesticide’s federally approved label is preempted. (Taylor Ag Industries v. Pure-Gro (9th Cir. 1995) 54 F.3d 555, 561 .)

The primary focus of this appeal is whether FIFRA preempts respondents’ state law claims against the manufacturer of a pest control product for breach of an express warranty and negligence. The trial court concluded the statements at issue constituted a guarantee that was outside of the label. Consequently, the court ruled that the FIFRA preemption clause did not apply.

Appellant, Consep, Inc., disagrees with the trial court’s analysis. According to Consep, its agent’s representations were limited to the efficacy of the product and thus were…