California Supreme Court Limits Asbestos Liability For Valve And Pump Manufacturers

The California Supreme Court sharply limited asbestos liability for valve and pump manufacturers (and their insurers) in O'Neil v. Crane Co., 2012 WL 88533 (Jan. 12, 2012). The court resolved conflicting appellate court decisions and, in so doing, joined Washington (Simonetta v. Viad Corp., 165 Wn.2d 341 (2008)) and the 6th Circuit (Lindstrom v. A‐C Product Liability Trust, 424 F.3d 48 (6th Cir. 2005)), in holding that valve and pump manufacturers have no duty to warn about the hazards associated with other manufacturers' asbestos products, even though those products were incorporated into valves and pumps. The Supreme Court acknowledged that valve and pump manufacturers are "peripheral defendants" that are often sued because most of the target asbestos manufacturers are in bankruptcy.

O'Neil involved a common fact pattern. Plaintiff's deceased husband served on board an aircraft carrier from 1965‐1967. Two manufacturers, Crane Co. and Warren Pumps, provided valves and pumps for the ship during its construction in the 1940s. Navy specifications required asbestos packing and gaskets in the valves to withstand heat and pressure. However, the valves and pumps themselves did not need asbestos to function in normal conditions. In addition, the valves and pumps were covered with asbestos insulation, which had to be removed when the packing and gaskets were replaced. Plaintiff alleged that her deceased husband had been exposed to asbestos dust from the removal of worn packing and gaskets and the removal of asbestos insulation. The packing and gaskets replaced in the 1960s were not manufactured by Crane and Warren, and the original packing and gaskets were replaced many years before plaintiff's husband was exposed. Plaintiff's husband was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2003 and died in 2004. Plaintiff sued various manufacturers of products allegedly causing her husband's disease, including Crane and Warren.

The Supreme Court rejected plaintiff's argument that Crane and Warren were strictly liable for failing to warn plaintiff's husband about the hazards of asbestos in replacement packing, gaskets, and insulation. The Supreme Court held that the manufacturer only had a duty to warn of the hazards of its own products, not replacement parts and insulation applied to its products. The Supreme Court recognized that the situation might be different if the product required a hazardous component to operate and it was known that the component would need...