Louisiana-Pacific Corp. v. Koppers Co.

Introduction

In this case we must decide whether plaintiff Louisiana-Pacific Corporation’s (L/P) tort action against defendant Koppers Company, Inc. (Koppers) is preempted by the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). We conclude the action is preempted and, hence, that the trial court correctly granted Koppers’s motion for summary judgment.

Background

L/P operated a lumber mill and wood treating facility in Potter Valley, Mendocino County. Beginning around 1973, L/P purchased from Koppers a wood preservative called Noxtane, which contains pentachlorophenol. Noxtane was registered with, and its label regulated by, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and, later, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The 55-gallon barrels of Noxtane that L/P purchased from Koppers bore USDA- or EPA-approved warning labels.

Between the mid-1970’s and mid-1980’s, L/P learned that state and federal regulatory agencies were concerned about potential soil and groundwater contamination from the use of pentachlorophenol chemicals, including Noxtane. In 1987, the California Regional Water Quality Control Board issued an order requiring L/P…