Priester v. Cromer

This case concerns whether Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 205 (49 C.F.R. § 571.205 (1971)) preempts a state law products liability claim premised solely on a manufacturer’s choice of tempered glass for a vehicle’s side windows. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 205 (Regulation 205) mandates that “[grazing materials 1 for use in motor vehicles ... shall conform” to the American National Standard Institute “safety code for safety glazing materials.” Courts across the country faced with this issue have struggled with the preemptive effect, if any, of Regulation 205 and have reached…