Air and Liquid Systems Corp. v. Devries
U.S. Supreme Court · decided March 19, 2019 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Decided
- March 19, 2019
- Term
- October Term 2018
- Vote
- 6–3
- Majority author
- Justice Kavanaugh
- Issue area
- Private Action
- Disposition
- Affirmed
- Outcome
- Petitioning party lost
- Ideological direction
- Liberal
Opinion excerpt
Justice KAVANAUGH delivered the opinion of the Court. In maritime tort cases, we act as a common-law court, subject to any controlling statutes enacted by Congress. See Exxon Shipping Co. v. Baker , 554 U.S. 471, 507-508, 128 S.Ct. 2605, 171 L.Ed.2d 570 (2008). This maritime tort case raises a question about the scope of a manufacturer's duty to warn. The manufacturers here produced equipment such as pumps, blowers, and turbines for three Navy ships. The equipment required asbestos insulation or asbestos parts in order to function as intended. When used on the ships, the equipment released asbestos fibers into the air. Two Navy veterans who were exposed to asbestos on the ships developed cancer and later died. The veterans' families sued the equipment manufacturers, claiming that the manufacturers were negligent in failing to warn of the dangers of asbestos. The plaintiffs contend that a manufacturer has a duty to warn when the manufacturer's product requires incorporation of a part (here, asbestos) that the manufacturer knows is likely to make the integrated product dangerous for its intended uses. The manufacturers respond that they had no duty to warn because they did not themselves incorporate the asbestos into their equipment; rather, the Navy added the asbestos to the equipment after the equipment was already on board the ships. We agree with the plaintiffs. In the…
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