Cite as: 537 U. S. 51 (2002)
Opinion of the Court
essarily contains the best evidence of Congress' pre-emptive intent." CSX Transp., Inc. v. Easterwood, 507 U. S. 658, 664 (1993). Here, the express pre-emption clause in § 10 applies to "a [state or local] law or regulation." 46 U. S. C. § 4306. We think that this language is most naturally read as not encompassing common-law claims for two reasons. First, the article "a" before "law or regulation" implies a discrete-ness—which is embodied in statutes and regulations—that is not present in the common law. Second, because "a word is known by the company it keeps," Gustafson v. Alloyd Co., 513 U. S. 561, 575 (1995), the terms "law" and "regulation" used together in the pre-emption clause indicate that Congress pre-empted only positive enactments. If "law" were read broadly so as to include the common law, it might also be interpreted to include regulations, which would render the express reference to "regulation" in the pre-emption clause superfluous.
The Act's saving clause buttresses this conclusion. See Geier v. American Honda Motor Co., 529 U. S., at 867-868. It states that "[c]ompliance with this chapter or standards, regulations, or orders prescribed under this chapter does not relieve a person from liability at common law or under State law." § 4311(g). As we held in Geier, the "saving clause assumes that there are some significant number of common-law liability cases to save [and t]he language of the preemption provision permits a narrow reading that excludes common-law actions." Id., at 868.
The saving clause is also relevant for an independent reason. The contrast between its general reference to "liability at common law" and the more specific and detailed description of what is pre-empted by § 10—including the exception for state regulations addressing "uniquely hazardous conditions"—indicates that § 10 was drafted to pre-empt performance standards and equipment requirements imposed by statute or regulation.
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