Product Liability -- 2016



Dummitt v. A. W. Chesterton   (New York Court of Appeals)

Duty to warn about hazards in products made by other manufacturers

The NAM filed an amicus brief in an asbestos litigation suit to oppose imposing manufacturer liability for failure to warn purchasers about potential harms from exposure to asbestos-containing products created by others when used in conjunction with the manufacturer’s product. A ship worker claimed exposure to asbestos from repairing valves and secured a judgment against a manufacturer of metal parts on the theory that the manufacturer should have warned that asbestos was hazardous, although the company neither installed the asbestos components, nor required the use of asbestos to properly operate the valves. This case could open the door for a new round of legal cases that would hold manufacturers who did not manufacture a product containing asbestos liable. The NAM’s brief argued that the litigation runs contrary to well settled law that manufacturers are not liable for failure to warn about hazards from other products except in very limited circumstances and that the court should follow other courts which have held that manufacturers are not liable for harms caused by post sale addition of asbestos containing replacement parts. Unfortunately, the court did not agree with NAM’s arguments.


Related Documents:
NAM amicus brief  (October 8, 2014)