United States Fifth Circuit

In a state tort suit brought against General Motors arising from the death of plaintiff's daughter in a car accident, summary judgment for GM is affirmed where: 1) there was no error in a finding that Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208 preempted plaintiff's seatbelt and retractor claims; and 2) a claim, that the unique design of the 1999 Pontiac GrandAm rendered the vehicle unsafe without a lap/shoulder belt installed in the rear center seat, was merely an attempt to circumvent preemption; and 3) defective marketing and failure to warn claims are preempted.

Appellate Information

• Decided 12/04/2007
• Published 12/04/2007

Judges

• CARL E. STEWART, Circuit Judge:, Before JONES, Chief Judge, and DeMOSS and STEWART, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Fifth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Donald H. Slavik, Virginia M. Antoine, D. James Weis (argued), Habush, Habush & Rottier, SC, Milwaukee, WI, Patricia Shackelford, Shackelford Law Firm, Corpus Christi, TX, for Carden., Rickey J. Brantley, Jose, Henry, Brantley & Keltner, John Kevin Clark, Clark & Winfrey, PLLC, Fort Worth, TX, for Wilson., A. Erin Dwyer (argued), Timothy A. Daniels, Figari & Davenport, Kyle Harold Dreyer, Hartline, Dacus, Barger, Dreyer & Kern, LLP, Dallas, TX, for General Motors Corp., Erika Ziebarth Jones, Adam Charles Sloane, Mayer Brown, LLP, Washington, DC, for Amici Curiae Alliance of Auto. Mfrs. and Ass'n of Intern. Auto. Mfrs., Inc., Alan Edward Untereiner, Robbins, Russell, Englert, Orseck & Untereiner, Washington, DC, for Amicus Curiae Product Liability Advisory Council, Inc.