Gracia v. Volvo Europa Truck, N.V.’s Empirical Analysis

Citation profile

8 federal appellate · 10 state decisions

Most-quoted passages

The sentences later courts lift from this opinion, ranked by how many decisions quote each — the parts of the opinion doing the work. These counts are smaller than the citation total above because most of the 38 citing decisions cite the case generally; a passage count includes only decisions quoting that exact language verbatim.

1. ““(1) express preemption where Congress explicitly preempts state law; (2) implied preemption where Congress has occupied the entire field (field preemption); and (3) implied preemption where there is an actual conflict between federal and state law (conflict preemption).” Garcia [Gracia] v. Volvo Europa Truck, N.V., 112 F.3d 291, 294 (7th Cir.1997)(citing English v. General Elec. Co., 496 U.S. 72, 78-79 , 110 S.Ct. 2270 , 110 L.Ed.2d 65 (1990)).”

   2 later decisions quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 64 Cal. App. 4th 597 - PAULETTO v. Reliance Ins. Co. · 154 F. Supp. 2d 1165 - Columbiana County Port Authority v. Boardman Township Park District

2. “In 1969 the NHTSA’s predecessor, the Federal Highway Administration, proposed to extend standard 212 to cover vehicles such as the truck at issue. 34 Fed.Reg. 14438 (1969) (proposed September 10, 1969); R. 216, Ex. 5. The response submitted in opposition to this amendment by the Automobile Manufacturers Association (“AMA”) explained that the configuration of forward control vehicles renders any level of windshield retention basically meaningless because the impact either directly involves the windshield or results in severe deformation of the windshield mounting structure. R. 216, Ex. 6, AMA’s Comments on Proposed Amendment, at S70-3.4 and S70-3.5. The AMA further explained that the windshield has been identified as an important means of escape from a truck, particularly when it comes to rest on its side after an accident. Id. After receiving responses such as these, the NHTSA decided that forward control vehicles, such as the truck at issue, would not be required to comply with the standard until September 1, 1978. 37 Fed.Reg. 16980 (1972) (recognizing that forward control vehicles would have difficulty in retaining windshields because of reasons given by the AMA). The NHTSA finally determined in 1977 that given the design of forward control vehicles it was both technically impracticable to design windshields which could comply with the standards and impracticable to apply the standard’s barrier crash tests to these vehicles. 42 Fed.Reg. 34289 (1977); 41 Fed.Reg. 36193 (1976”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. 634 F. Supp. 2d 1096 - Soto v. Tu Phuoc Nguyen

3. “The Safety Act, in order that it might achieve its primary purpose of reducing traffic injuries and fatalities, also had the objective of establishing uniform national safety standards and adequate enforcement of those standards, as the legislative history indicates. We agree that when a state requirement is not identical to the federal standard it would obviously impede the objective of uniform national standards .... If Gracia’s common law claim was not preempted, then manufacturers would be placed in a position where they could be subject to varying standards from state to state, which could not all be complied with simultaneously. For instance, one state’s common law could require stringent windshield retention, while another state’s could require that windshields not be permanently affixed. If this were the case, then the manufacturer would be subject to liability if the windshield were ejected in an accident in one state, but in another state would be liable if a windshield remained intact and a trapped victim were unable to escape from the vehicle.”

   1 later decision quote this exact passage · from the majority
   e.g. Rollins v. Bombardier Recreational Products, Inc.