Daniel Cellucci v. General Motors

OPINION BY BECK, J.: Filed: April 30, 1996 The issue is whether the instant products liability action against appellant General Motors Corporation (""GM"") is preempted by the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1381 et seq. (the ""Safety Act"") and the pertinent Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (""Safety Standards"") and regulations promulgated thereunder. GM asks that we overrule our decisions in Gingold v. Audi-Nsu-Auto Union, A.G., 389 Pa. Super. 328, 567 A.2d 312 (1989) and Heiple v. C.R. Motors, Inc., 446 Pa. Super. 310, 666 A.2d 1066 (1995), and adopt the reasoning of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Pokorny v. Ford Motor Co., 902 F.2d 1116 (3d Cir. 1990), cert. denied, 498 U.S. 853, 112 L. Ed. 2d 113, 111 S. Ct. 147 (1990). 1 We do so, and thereby reverse the trial court's denial of GM's motion for partial summary judgment. 2 Cf. Muntz v. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 1996 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 79, Pa. Commw. , 673 A.2d 328 (1996) (air bag claim not preempted by federal law).