Attorney General Brown Defends States’ Rights to Protect Public Health in Brief Before the Supreme Court of the United States

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BALTIMORE, MD – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown today announced that Maryland has joined a multistate coalition, in filing an amicus brief before the Supreme Court of the United States 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 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.  

“Marylanders have a right to know when pesticides can damage their health, and a right to seek justice when manufacturers hide that risk,” said Attorney General Brown. “We are filing this brief because the law should never protect a company’s silence more than a consumer’s life.”

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, the coalition argues 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.  

Joining Attorney General Brown in filing the brief are the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.  

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