Breaking Developments In London Market Law
1/21/09
Washington Supreme Court Adheres to Traditional Limitations to Products Liability Claims:
Rules That Equipment Manufacturers Have No Duty to Warn of Dangers Posed by Products They
Did Not Manufacture or Sell
On December 11, 2008, the Washington Supreme Court issued opinions in two asbestos cases that
p
resented the issue whether manufacturers of naval equipment, such as pumps, valves and evaporators,
o
wed a duty under common law products liability or negligence to warn of the dangers posed by
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sbestos-containing insulation, gaskets and packing, materials they neither manufactured nor sold but that
w
ere used in conjunction wi
t
h their naval equipment. The Court's decisions were issued in Braaten v.
S
aberhagen Holdings, Inc. et al. and Simonetta v. Viad Corporation, et al.1 In both cases the Supreme
C
ourt held that the equipment manufacturers did not owe a duty to warn of the dangers of asbestos-
c
ontaining products that they did not manufacture, sell or otherwise place into the stream of commerce.
1 The Simonetta opinion may be found at 197 P.3d 127 (Dec. 11, 2008.) The Braaten opinion may be
f
ound at ___ P.3d ___; WL 5175083 (Dec. 11, 2008.)
F
ACTS
A
t issue in the Simonetta case, was an evaporator that was installed to a Navy vessel, the USS Saufley, in
t
he early 1940s. After it was installed, and pursuant to Navy requirements, the evaporator was insulated
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ith asbestos-containing insulation that was manufactured, sold and installed by other companies.
A
lthough the evaporator was manufactured and sold free of insulation, its manufacturer/seller knew that it
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ould likely be insulated and that the insulation would likely contain asbestos. Joseph Simonetta served
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board the USS Saufley as a machinist in the late 1950s, and he performed maintenance work to the
e
vaporator. In the course of that work he removed exterior insulation to gain access to the evaporator, and
h
e reinstalled the insulation when his work was finished. More than 40 years later, Mr. Simonetta was
d
iagnosed to have lung cancer.
T
he defendants in the Braaten case were valve and pump manufacturers whose equipment was also
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nstalled to Navy vessels. After they were installed many, but not all, of the valves and pumps were
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nsulated pursuant to Navy requirements, and the insulation often contained asbestos. The pumps and
v
alves were incorporated within the ship's piping systems by means of flange connections, which
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ommonly used asbestos-containing gaskets. Also, the valves and pumps were shipped with internal
p
acking and gaskets, and sometimes the packing and gaskets contained asbestos. During periodic
m
aintenance of the valves and pumps, the internal packing and gaskets were routinely replaced with new
p
acking and gaskets that were made and sold by others. Vernon Braaten worked as a pipefitter for 35
Asbestos: Product Liability Update
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