Cotter Corporation, et al. v. Nikki Steiner Mazzocchio, et al.

Under the Atomic Energy Act (AEA), private persons may possess, use, and dispose of specific nuclear materials only if authorized by federal statute or regulation. Handlers of these nuclear materials must comply with comprehensive safety regulations, including federal limits on the radioactive material they may release and the levels of radiation to which they may expose the public. For decades, these federal requirements have been understood to preempt state regulation of nuclear safety. See Pacific Gas & Elec. Co. v. State Energy Res. Conservation & Dev. Comm’n, 461 U.S. 190, 212 (1983). As amended by the Price-Anderson Act (PAA), the AEA also provides a federal cause of action for “public liability action[s],” including torts arising out of a statutorily-defined “nuclear incident.” 42 U.S.C. § 2014(ii). Because of federal field preemption, the federal courts of appeals have long uniformly held that federal nuclear safety regulations provide the standard of care in such actions. In the decision below, however, the Eighth Circuit created a circuit split, expressly rejecting the other circuits’ view and holding that state standards of care, as determined by local juries, serve as the standard of liability in actions under the PAA. The question presented is: Whether federal nuclear safety regulations preempt state tort standards of care in public liability actions. (I)