Also known as: federal preemption · preemption doctrine · preemption · Supremacy Clause preemption
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A constitutional principle by which valid federal law supersedes conflicting state law under the Supremacy Clause. Federal statutes or regulations displace state measures when Congress expressly so provides, when federal law occupies the field, or when state law stands as an obstacle to federal objectives.
Felix Franco sought to open a sports betting parlor in his home state after the legislature authorized limited licensing. State officials refused the license under a federal statute barring states from permitting such schemes. The court held that the federal measure did not validly preempt the state law because it directed state legislative action rather than regulating private conduct.
Farah Fox sued a pacemaker manufacturer after the device failed and caused injury. She alleged a state common-law design defect. The court dismissed the claim because federal premarket approval standards for the specific device displaced the state tort standard.
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Frederick Ferguson was injured in a car crash and claimed the manufacturer should have installed a different airbag system under state tort law. The court found the federal safety standard created an obstacle to the state claim and therefore preempted it.
Felicity French alleged that a medical device caused harm because its labeling failed to warn of a known risk under state law. The court permitted the claim to proceed because the federal approval process did not impose device-specific requirements that would displace the state warning obligation.
Frank Fisher sued a defense contractor after a helicopter part failed during a training exercise. The court applied federal preemption to bar the state tort claim because the government had approved the precise design specifications.
Ferrum Metals stored grain at a facility subject to both federal and state inspection rules. When state officials attempted to enforce additional licensing requirements, the court held that federal law occupied the field and preempted the state measures.
Federal preemption displaces state law that conflicts with or obstructs federal objectives. The anti-commandeering doctrine prevents Congress from ordering states to enact or enforce federal regulatory programs. A federal statute that targets only state legislative action rather than private conduct is analyzed under anti-commandeering rather than preemption.
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Field preemption occurs when Congress intends federal regulation to be exclusive in a given area. Courts infer this intent from a pervasive federal scheme or from the need for national uniformity. State measures in that area are then displaced even if they do not directly conflict with federal commands.
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A state requirement that delays or conditions entry into a federally regulated market can still be preempted if it obstructs federal objectives. Courts examine whether the state action creates an actual barrier rather than waiting for hypothetical future approvals.
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Yes. Federal statutes or regulations that set specific standards for product design or warnings can preempt state tort actions that would impose different or additional requirements.
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…approval, and that the FDA had previously considered and rejected stronger warnings about the IV-push method. We reject Wyeth’s preemption arguments. The history of the FDA’s regulation of drug labeling demonstrates that Congress did not intend for the FDA’s approvals to preempt state-law failure-to-warn claims. When the FDA…