New Mexico Leads Multistate Coalition in Supreme Court Brief Defending States’ Rights to Protect Public Health

The brief, led by New Mexico and joined by a coalition of 17 other states, urges the Court to preserve longstanding state laws that allow those who have been wronged by pesticide manufacturers to seek justice.

Source: N.M. Department of Justice

Albuquerque, NM – New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez today announced that the New Mexico Department of Justice is leading a multistate coalition in filing an amicus brief before the U.S. Supreme Court in Monsanto Co. v. Durnell, a case that could have sweeping implications for states’ ability to provide access to justice for those injured by pesticide manufacturers.

The brief, led by New Mexico and joined by a coalition of 17 other states, urges the Court to preserve longstanding state laws that allow those who have been wronged by pesticide manufacturers to seek justice. These laws are an essential tool to protect consumers because they encourage manufacturers to adequately warn about potential health risks posed by their products.

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“At stake in this case is whether state law will continue enabling people to hold pesticide manufacturers accountable in many cases,” said Attorney General Raúl Torrez. “We are leading this coalition to ensure that federal law is not misused to shield corporations from accountability and to defend the ability of states to safeguard public health through private claims brought in state courts.”

The case centers on whether federal pesticide law overrides, or “preempts,” state law claims alleging that manufacturers failed to warn consumers about potential dangers associated with their products. In the brief, New Mexico and its partners argue that Congress never intended to eliminate state tort law protections, that state tort law helps further Congress’s intent to protect human and environmental health, and that preempting state tort law would wrongfully take decisions away from states and juries.

“New Mexico is proud to lead this effort alongside a group of attorneys general committed to defending states’ rights and protecting consumers nationwide.”

Joining New Mexico are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, The District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.

Amicus Brief