Ventress v. Japan Airlines, No. 12-15066 (9th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CasePlaintiff filed suit against JAL, alleging that JAL retaliated against him for reporting safety concerns and constructively terminated him for reasons related to his medical and mental fitness. At issue on appeal was whether the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (FAA), 49 U.S.C. 40103 et seq., preempted plaintiff's state law claims. The court concluded that the FAA and accompanying regulations preempted plaintiff's retaliation and constructive termination claims. The court held that federal law preempted state law claims that encroached upon, supplemented, or altered the federally occupied field of aviation safety and presented an obstacle to the accomplishment of Congress's legislative goal to create a single, uniform, system of regulating that field. Further, the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying plaintiff's motion for reconsideration where he conceded that the conduct giving rise to his claims occurred in U.S. airspace. Accordingly, the court affirmed the district court's judgment in favor of JAL.
Court Description: Preemption / Federal Aviation Act. The panel affirmed the district court’s judgment in favor of Japan Airlines based on the Federal Aviation Act’s preemption of the pro se plaintiff’s state claims. Plaintiff, a former flight engineer, alleged that Japan Airlines retaliated against him for reporting safety concerns and constructively terminated him for reasons related to his medical and mental fitness. The panel held that plaintiff’s California state law claims were preempted by the Federal Aviation Act because they required the factfinder to intrude upon the federally occupied field of aviation safety by deciding questions of pilot medical standards and qualifications. The panel also held that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying plaintiff’s motion for reconsideration. Judge Bea concurred in part because he believes that plaintiff only appealed the district court’s decision denying his motion for reconsideration, and therefore he only joined that part of the majority’s opinion. Judge Bea does not believe that the court needed to address the district court’s conclusion concerning federal preemption.
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