Air & Liquid Sys. Corp. v. DeVries

139 S.Ct. 986, 203 L.Ed.2d 373 (2019)

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Air & Liquid Sys. Corp. v. DeVries

United States Supreme Court
139 S.Ct. 986, 203 L.Ed.2d 373 (2019)

  • Written by Rose VanHofwegen, JD
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Facts

Veterans Kenneth McAfee and John DeVries died after asbestos exposure on US Navy ships. Their widows and estates (plaintiffs) brought a products-liability lawsuit against Air & Liquid Systems Corp. and other manufacturers who made pumps, blowers, and turbines for Navy ships (defendants) for failure to warn of asbestos dangers. Those products did not contain asbestos when manufactured but required additional asbestos parts or insulation to function as intended. The trial court granted the manufacturers summary judgment, but the appellate court reversed, reasoning that the manufacturers could reasonably foresee that their products would incorporate asbestos components. The manufacturers appealed, arguing no duty to warn arose for after-market components.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Kavanaugh, J.)

Dissent (Gorsuch, J.)

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Casebooks

Introduction To U.S. Law
Products Liability
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