Nissan Motor Corp. in U.S.A. v. Superior Court

Opinion

THE COURT.

*

The petition for writ of mandate, filed March 24, 1989, and the opposition thereto, filed May 23, 1989, have been read and considered.

As there is not a plain, speedy and adequate remedy at law, and in view of the fact that the issuance of an alternative writ would add nothing to the presentation already made, we deem this to be a proper case for the issuance of a peremptory writ of mandate “in the first instance.” (Code Civ. Proc., § 1088.) Opposition was requested by letter, and the parties were notified by the same letter, dated May 11, 1989, as to the court’s intention to issue a peremptory writ.

(Palma

v.

U. S. Industrial Fasteners

(1984) 36 Cal.3d 171, 180 [203 Cal.Rptr. 626, 681 P.2d 893].)

Petitioners, an automobile manufacturer and other defendants in an underlying wrongful death action, seek review of an order of respondent court (Hon. Lawrence Waddington), denying their motion for summary adjudication of the issue that the “no air bag” claim is preempted by federal law.

[982]

In their complaint for wrongful death, real parties allege that the 1982 Datsun Stanza automobile, driven by their husband/father, was defective in that it failed to have an automatic air bag and that the three-point restraint system was defective. Petitioners moved for summary adjudication of the issue that the “no air bag” claim is preempted by the federal government. The Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208, revised by the United States Department of Transportation in 1972 to include passive restraints, established requirements for the occupant restraint system in the 1982 automobile involved in the underlying action; it required the three-point safety belt system Nissan Motor Corporation in U.S.A. installed or an air bag; it has never required air bags. The National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966 (15 U.S.C. § 1381 et seq.) section 1392(d), requires all state vehicle safety standards to be identical to federal vehicle safety standards; a state common law requirement for air bags would be contrary to the federal requirements and, therefore, preempted.