ELR Citation: ELR 20544
No(s). s. 85-5351, -5352 (3d Cir. Feb 19, 1986)

The court holds that the district court did not have subject matter jurisdiction under either the federal question statute or the Price-Anderson Act to consider a public liability action arising out of the Three Mile Island nuclear accident for recovery of punitive damages under state law. The court first holds that the district court did not have subject matter jurisdiction under the federal question statute. The court holds that plaintiffs' common law claims for punitive damages do not "arise under" the Price-Anderson Act. The Price-Anderson Act did not replace traditional state tort law remedies with federal law. The Supreme Court's decision in Duke Power Co. v. Carolina Environmental Study Group, 8 ELR 20545, does not mandate otherwise, despite language in the case suggesting that the Price-Anderson Act replaced common law remedies. The Court considered only whether the Act's liability limits violated due process, not whether the Act replaced state law. When the legislative history is examined, it becomes clear that Congress did not intend to replace state law. In addition, in 1966 Congress expressly granted federal jurisdiction for extraordinary nuclear occurrences, a grant that would not have been necessary if the Act had somehow "federalized" state law. The court then holds that §170(n) of the Act, granting original jurisdiction to the district court in cases involving extraordinary nuclear occurrences, does not establish subject matter jurisdiction. It rules that jurisdiction under §170(n) arises only if the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) first determines that the accident in question is an extraordinary nuclear occurrence, noting that such a determination by the NRC is conclusive upon the court. The court concludes that the Price-Anderson Act's objective of expediting compensation to victims of nuclear accidents will not be frustrated by any jurisdictional hiatus while the NRC's determination is pending. The court also holds, in a note, that there is no diversity of citizenship between the parties.

Counsel for Appellants
John G. Harkins Jr., A. H. Wilcox
Pepper, Hamilton & Scheetz
Suite 2001, 123 S. Broad St., Philadelphia PA 19109
(215) 893-3000

Counsel for Appellees
Joseph D. Shein, Daniel G. Childs
Shein, Paul, Reich & Myers
235 S. 17th St., Philadelphia PA 19103
(215) 735-6677

Present Gibbons and Gerry,^* JJ.