Hoelck v. ICI Americas, Inc.

Mues, Judge.

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff, John A. Hoelck, a farm laborer, was allegedly injured when gases from bags which had contained an insecticide, Dyfonate 20-G, exploded and his clothing caught on fire. Hoelck filed a negligence and strict liability action against his employer and against the manufacturer of the insecticide, ICI Americas, Inc., now called ZENECA (hereafter ZENECA). The trial court granted ZENECA’s first summary judgment motion, finding that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), 7 U.S.C. §§ 136 to 136y (1988), preempted the bulk of Hoelck’s claim. A…