SPRIETSMA v. MERCURY MARINE

No. 89492.

757 N.E.2d 75 (2001)

197 Ill.2d 112

258 Ill.Dec. 690

Rex R. SPRIETSMA, Adm'r of the Estate of Jeanne Sprietsma, Deceased, Appellant, v. MERCURY MARINE, A DIVISION OF BRUNSWICK CORPORATION, Appellee.

Supreme Court of Illinois.

August 16, 2001.


Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

Power, Rogers & Smith, P.C. (Joseph A. Power, Jr., Todd A. Smith, Devon C. Bruce, of counsel), John B. Kralovec, of Kralovec, Jambois & Schwartz, Chicago, Arthur H. Bryant, Oakland, California, Anne Bloom, Michael Quirk, Washington, D.C., for appellant.

Cassiday, Shade & Gloor (Donald F. Ivansek, Michael J. Cucco, of counsel), Stephen M. Shapiro, John J. Sullivan, Steffen N. Johnson, Kermit Roosevelt, of Mayer, Brown & Platt, Chicago, Faegre & Benson, LLP, Minneapolis, Minnesota (Daniel J. Connolly, Mark J. Carpenter, of counsel), for appellee.

Hugh C. Griffin, Stevie A. Starnes, of Lord, Bissell & Brook, Chicago (Hugh F. Young, Jr., Reston, Virginia, of counsel), for amicus curiae Product Liability Advisory Council, Inc.


Justice GARMAN delivered the opinion of the court:

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, plaintiffs decedent, Jeanne Sprietsma, fell from a motorboat and was struck by the motor's propeller blades. As a result, she suffered...

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