Source: https://law.justia.com/cases/new-jersey/appellate-division-published/2018/a3520-13.html
Timestamp: 2019-04-23 21:57:10+00:00

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Justia › US Law › Case Law › New Jersey Case Law › New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division - Published Opinions Decisions › 2018 › ARTHURG. WHELAN v. ARMSTRONG INTERNATIONAL INC.
ARTHURG. WHELAN v. ARMSTRONG INTERNATIONAL INC.
GRUNDFOS PUMPS CORP.; H.B. SMITH CO.
VALVE CORP.; MANHATTAN WELDING CO.
Before Judges Accurso, O'Connor, and Suter.
Before Judges Alvarez, Nugent, and Currier.
Law Division, Middlesex County, Docket No.
Placitella & Roth, PC, attorneys; Rachel A.
Placitella, Nahid A. Shaikh, and Darron E.
brief; Linda Fulop-Slaughter, on the brief).
Christopher B. Bladel, on the brief).
Sara K. Saltsman, on the brief).
Conte, Michelle B. Cappuccio and   Colleen B.
Robin   Gnudi   Kalocsay   and  Michael   D.
Dunst & Doukas, LLP, attorneys; Marc S.
S. Cohen, on the brief).
brief; Angela Coll Caliendo, on the brief).
components used in the products.
court granted summary judgment to each defendant.
2013 orders granting summary judgment in favor of defendants.
where he worked for twenty-five years.
subsequently    diagnosed   with   malignant   mesothelioma   in   2012.
contributed to cause the diffuse malignant mesothelioma . . .
causation of the diffuse malignant mesothelioma."
boilers.3       The    company's    name    was   imprinted   on    the    traps.
depending on its condition and how long it had been in place.
prevent the steam from going back into the boiler.
would work with the heat involved."
gasket was manufactured and supplied by an unrelated company.
proper replacement part for the steam traps.
replaced in the Armstrong steam traps were original to the trap.
necessary for proper function at the time.
twenty to thirty packaged, cast iron, oil-fired Burnham boilers.
the piping would be hooked up."
cleaning a cast iron sectional boiler was "basically the same"
asbestos to come loose with the wire brush."
asbestos components were used in Burnham boilers until 1993.
for a cast iron sectional boiler was "basically the same"
replacement of the cement bricks.
Carrier is the successor to Bryant Heating & Cooling Systems.
time, asbestos becomes brittle and flakes."
building . . . is connected to the . . .
asbestos type cement to hold it in place.
Vermiculite did not fly out.
firebox."        The    cans    he   used    were    marked       "asbestos      cement."
usually what was needed to put that boiler together."
boilers even described the jackets as asbestos-insulated.
plaintiff's asbestos exposure from Bryant boilers was minimal.
long, and each took one to two days to clean.
in the boilers or the boilers' maintenance history or age.
replacing leaky tubes on Cleaver-Brook steel fire tube boilers.
boiler was the same as other boilers and he was "[d]efinitely"
Brooks boilers he worked on.
regular      maintenance     and    cleaning      was    generally     required.
if any of the brakes he worked on were original to the cars.
out, and cut.        The majority of the drums "were original lined"
drums he worked on at Modern Motors were made by Ford.
Plaintiff purchased this car new.
manufacturer of the original gaskets he removed.
changing the brakes on his personal vehicles was minimal.
of the valves or the components.
tag on the valve itself or in a manual.
anything left in there" and then repair it if that did not work.
down, vacuum it out and inspect the tubes."
Oakfabco is the successor to Kewanee Boiler Corp.
firebox and vacuuming blew the dust back into the room.
history of any of the boilers.
took up to two hours for each boiler.
plaintiff's allegations of strict liability.
or replacement part it did not manufacture or supply.
the   defect    caused       injury    to   a    reasonably        foreseeable      user."
133 N.J. 581, 593-94 (1993).
product has the potential to cause injury.                    Ibid.
warn of asbestos-related hazards associated with its use.                               Id.
substantial      factor       in    causing     or    exacerbating       the      disease."
238 N.J. Super. at 30-31).
261 N.J. Super. 85 (App.
plaintiff was installing the unit to the truck.                     Id. at 91.
Goodrich Tire Company,13 and others.          Id. at 89.
secure the tire to the truck before inflation.             Ibid.
expert's evidence and granting a directed verdict for Uniroyal.
defendants, including the manufacturer of the rim.
Uniroyal Goodrich was improperly pled as B.F. Goodrich.
manufactured, and sold by defendant.
256 N.J. Super. 1, 4 (App.
even a component part may be liable for a . . . warning defect."
to replacement parts they did not manufacture or distribute.
to   warn   of   danger     in   replacement      parts    in    Hughes    v.    A.W.
of asbestos component parts.            Id. at 338-47.
duty to warn is nondelegable.
with the component parts as part of regular maintenance."              Id.
causation element was met.             Ibid.
component parts.        Id. at 345-46.
rooted principles of product liability under New Jersey law.
Super. 312, 318 (App. Div. 2003).
original asbestos has          been replaced with other asbestos.
parts integral to their function that is the product.
substantially altered from its original design"); Brown v. U.S.
consumer . . . is subject to liability for physical harm . . .
substantially      similar      part     is       a     foreseeable                alteration.
alter either the injury-producing element or the defect.
policy govern whether the imposition of a duty is warranted").
98 N.J. 198, 207 (1984)).
(defining asbestos-containing component parts as the "product"
of the parts with other asbestos-containing parts"); Poage v.
it   supplied    its       product    to    the     end     user);       McKenzie    v.    A.W.
states have rejected the bare metal defense).
it did not manufacture or supply.                 Lindstrom v. A-C Prod. Liab.
424 F.3d 488, 492-96 (6th Cir. 2005).
original asbestos-containing parts supplied by the manufacturer.
198 P.3d 493, 495-504 (Wash.
component parts a manufacture did not fabricate or distribute.
that was the proximate cause of [plaintiff's] alleged injury."
In Braaten, the defendants manufactured valves and pumps.
manufactured or distributed.           Id. at 501-02.
969 F. Supp. 2d 1358, 1364-67 (S.D.
the decisions that have come before.
component that contains the identical injury–producing element.
for an asbestos-containing replacement part.
enunciated in Sholtis and adopted by the Supreme Court in James.
of contact, and with the product in close proximity."
238 N.J. Super. at 28).
infer     toxic   exposure.        Sholtis,         238     N.J.       Super.        at     29.
manufacturer is absolved of its responsibility to warn.
moving    party     was   entitled    to    judgment        as     a   matter    of     law.
217 N.J. 99, 115 (2014).
– inclusive of component parts it did not manufacture or supply.
will not eliminate a defendant's liability.
issues of fact as to each defendant.
needed for the installation and operation of the product.
testimony     is   a      factual      dispute     to   be    resolved       by    a    jury.
products on a frequent and regular basis.
same type of work regarding his exposure with NIBCO valves.
proximity to asbestos in Johnson Controls and NIBCO valves.
sufficient evidence to withstand the grant of summary judgment.
stated twenty-five percent of those drums were made by Ford.
raise a factual issue for the jury under the Sholtis test.
each named defendant and remand to the trial court for trial.
with this opinion.          We do not retain jurisdiction.

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