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Sprietsma v. Mecury Marine8/16/2001
UNPUBLISHED
Docket No. 89492-Agenda 17-March 2001.
The issue in this case is whether the Federal Boat Safety Act of 1971 (FBSA) (46 U.S.C. §4301 et seq. (1994)) preempts state common law causes of action based on the manufacturer's failure to install propeller guards on boat engines. In July 1995, while boating in Tennessee, plaintiff's decedent, Jeanne Sprietsma, fell from a motor boat and was struck by the motor's propeller blades. As a result, she suffered serious injuries that resulted in her death. The boat was equipped with a 115-horsepower outboard motor, which did not contain a propeller guard. The motor was designed, manufactured, and sold by Mercury Marine.
The decedent's husband, Rex Sprietsma, filed a wrongful-death action against, among others, Mercury Marine, seeking to recover damages for decedent's pain and suffering along with the pecuniary loss suffered by himself and his son. Mercury Marine filed a motion to dismiss pursuant to section 2-619 of the Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/2-619 (West 1998)) on the grounds that Sprietsma's claims were expressly preempted by the language of the FBSA's preemption clause and were also impliedly preempted. The circuit court of Cook County granted Mercury Marine's motion to dismiss, finding the claims to be impliedly preempted. The appellate court affirmed, holding that the common law claims for failure to install propeller guards were expressly preempted. 312 Ill. App. 3d 1040. We granted Sprietsma's petition for leave to appeal pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 315 (177 Ill. 2d R. 315). As this case is an appeal from a section 2-619 motion to dismiss, our review is de novo. Carver v. Nall, 186 Ill. 2d 554, 557 (1999).
A. The Federal Boat Safety Act of 1971 and the Coast Guard's Decision Regarding Propeller Guards
Congress enacted the FBSA "to improve boating safety by requiring manufacturers to provide safer boats and boating equipment to the public through compliance with safety standards to be promulgated by the Secretary of the Department in which the Coast Guard is operating-presently the Secretary of Transportation." S. Rep. No. 92-248 (1971), reprinted in 1971 U.S.C.C.A.N. 1333. Due to an increase in the number of boat-related accidents and fatalities, Congress enacted the FBSA to establish "a coordinated national boating safety program." S. Rep. No. 92-248 (1971), reprinted in 1971 U.S.C.C.A.N. 1331, 1334-35. To implement this goal, the FBSA authorized the Secretary of Transportation (Secretary) to prescribe regulations necessary to establish minimum safety standards for recreational boats. 46 U.S.C. §4302(a) (1994). The Secretary may delegate regulatory functions to an organization or agency under his supervision (46 U.S.C. §4303(a) (1994)) and, in fact, has delegated the regulatory authority to the Commandant of the United States Coast Guard (49 C.F.R. §1.46(n)(1) (1999)). Before issuing a regulation, the Coast Guard must consult with the National Boating Safety Advisory Council (Advisory Council) to consider the need for a regulation and the extent to which the regulations will contribute to recreational boating safety. 46 U.S.C. §4302(c)(1) through (c)(4) (1994).
In 1988, the Coast Guard considered whether to require manufacturers to install propeller guards on their boat motors. The Coast Guard directed the Advisory Council to review the available data on prevention of propeller-strike accidents and to assess the feasibility and potential safety advantages and disadvantages of propeller guards. The Advisory Council appointed a Propeller Guard Subcommittee (Subcommittee) to review and analyze the data and to consider whether the Coast Guard should move toward a federal p
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