Product Liability -- 2020



Coffman et al. v. Armstrong Int'l, Inc., et al.   (Tennessee Supreme Court)

Urging the Tennessee Supreme Court to adopt a stream of commerce bright line rule for asbestos failure to warn claims

The NAM filed an amicus brief in the Tennessee Supreme Court supporting an appeal of an appellate court decision holding that equipment manufacturers may owe a duty to warn end users about alleged hazards in asbestos-containing external insulation or replacement gaskets and packing made or sold by third parties and affixed to the equipment post-sale. Some courts have held that manufacturers are only liable for products they themselves put in the stream of commerce. Other courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court in a 2019 maritime case, have adopted a foreseeability-based test that focuses on whether the later incorporation of an asbestos product was “required” for the pump, valve, etc. to work. Here, the Tennessee appellate court, relying on a 2008 asbestos take-home exposure case, applied a foreseeability-based test that is even more permissive than the U.S. Supreme Court standard for maritime cases. This case is important for all manufacturers whose products are used with potentially hazardous products sold by third parties. The NAM filed a coalition brief arguing that traditional tort principles do not support liability for harms caused by third parties and that such a duty would be costly and unpredictable, undermine consumer safety, increase non-asbestos tort cases, and fail to prevent future harm. On January 4, 2021, the court agreed and held that the manufacturers ”cannot be held liable for injuries resulting from products they did not make, distribute, or sell.”


Related Documents:
TN Supreme Court Opinion  (January 4, 2021)
NAM brief  (April 13, 2020)