Opinion ID: 2512590
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Products liability packing and gaskets

Text: ¶ 20 Next, unlike Simonetta, we must consider whether under common law products liability or negligence principles the manufacturers were required to warn of the danger of exposure to asbestos in packing and gaskets in their products if they originally included in their products asbestos-containing packing or gaskets manufactured by others. The manufacturers do not dispute that they would be liable for failure to warn of the danger of exposure to asbestos in the packing and gaskets originally contained in their products. Rather, they rely on the fact that, as stated above, Mr. Braaten testified that he did not work on new pumps and valves and that by the time he worked on the defendants' products it was impossible to tell how many times the packing and gaskets had been replaced. ¶ 21 Turning first to products liability law, the plaintiff contends that the manufacturers had a duty to warn of the danger of exposure to asbestos in the packing and gaskets that Mr. Braaten removed and replaced during routine maintenance of the defendants' pumps and valves. The general rule under the common law is, as explained in Simonetta, that a manufacturer does not have an obligation to warn of the dangers of another manufacturer's product. The defendant-manufacturers are not in the chain of distribution of asbestos-containing packing and gaskets that replaced the original packing and gaskets and thus fall within this general rule. Moreover, whether the manufacturers knew replacement parts would or might contain asbestos makes no difference because such knowledge does not matter, as we held in Simonetta, 197 P.3d at 136. ¶ 22 In addition, the theory underlying strict liability under § 402A is that, the seller, by marketing his product for use and consumption, has undertaken and assumed a special responsibility toward any member of the consuming public who may be injured by it; that the public has the right to and does expect, in the case of products which it needs and for which it is forced to rely upon the seller, that reputable sellers will stand behind their goods; that public policy demands that the burden of accidental injuries caused by products intended for consumption be placed upon those who market them, and be treated as a cost of production against which liability insurance can be obtained; and that the consumer of such products is entitled to the maximum of protection at the hands of someone, and the proper persons to afford it are those who market the products. Cmt. c (emphasis added). The harm in this case is a result of exposure to asbestos. These manufacturers, who did not manufacture, sell, or otherwise distribute the replacement packing and gaskets containing asbestos to which Mr. Braaten was exposed, did not market the product causing the harm and could not treat the burden of accidental injury caused by asbestos in the replacement products as a cost of production against which liability insurance could be obtained. Thus, the policies that support imposition of strict liability are inapplicable in this case, also indicating that under Washington's common law of strict product liability, no duty to warn on the part of these manufacturers should be found. ¶ 23 We also note that a number of courts have concluded that there is no duty to warn of dangers associated with replacement parts, where the manufacturer did not design or manufacture the replacement parts, even if the replacement part is virtually the same as the original part. See, e.g., Baughman v. Gen. Motors Corp., 780 F.2d 1131, 1133 (4th Cir.1986) (plaintiff injured by the explosive separation of a multipiece truck wheel rim assembly; defendant manufacturer of truck had not manufactured or assembled the wheel rim assembly; the manufacturer had no duty to warn of possible danger posed by replacement parts that it did not design, manufacture, or place into the stream of commerce; a [manufacturer] cannot be charged with testing and warning against any of a myriad of replacement parts supplied by any number of manufacturers); Ford Motor Co. v. Wood, 119 Md.App. 1, 703 A.2d 1315 (1998) (where there was no evidence that Ford parts were the replacement clutch and brake products containing asbestos that were installed where plaintiff worked, Ford could not be held liable for failure to warn of dangers of asbestos; Ford neither manufactured the parts nor placed them into the stream of commerce); cf. Niemann v. McDonnell Douglas Corp., 721 F.Supp. 1019 (S.D.Ill.1989) (asbestos chafing strips were routinely replaced during scheduled aircraft maintenance and record showed that plaintiff did not work on aircraft containing original chafing strips supplied by the manufacturer; because the product was not in same form when supplied by manufacturer as when plaintiff worked on it, under § 402A the manufacturer was not liable for harm resulting from exposure to this asbestos); Exxon Shipping Co. v. Pac. Res., Inc., 789 F.Supp. 1521, 1526-27 (D.Haw.1991). ¶ 24 Lindstrom v. A-C Product Liability Trust, 424 F.3d 488 (6th Cir.2005), is particularly instructive. In Lindstrom, a merchant seaman worked in the engine rooms of numerous ships and developed mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos during maintenance work on pumps and valves, among other things. He sued a number of manufacturers, including manufacturers of pumps and valves, asserting products liability and other claims. One of the manufacturers, Henry Vogt, manufactured valves that when sold contained encapsulated asbestos packing and asbestos-containing gaskets. ¶ 25 Evidence showed that the shipping company generally supplied replacement gaskets and packing and that the plaintiff almost certainly could not have come into contact with the original packing material and gaskets. Id. at 493-95. There was no evidence or claim that Henry Vogt manufactured replacement packing or gaskets. The Sixth Circuit affirmed summary judgment granted in favor of this defendant. The court held that the manufacturer could not be held responsible for asbestos-containing material that was attached to its products postmanufacture. Id. at 495. ¶ 26 Because we have held in Simonetta that there is no duty to warn of the dangers of other manufacturers' asbestos products, we also conclude that there was no duty to warn with respect to replacement packing and gaskets. See Lindstrom, 424 F.3d at 495, 496, 497. As in Lindstrom, these manufacturers should not be held liable for harm caused by asbestos-containing material included in their products postmanufacture. It does not comport with principles of strict liability to impose on manufacturers the responsibility and costs of becoming experts in other manufacturers' products. Here, for example, there is evidence that more than 60 types of packing had been approved for naval use. ¶ 27 With regard to the original packing and gaskets, all of the manufacturers point out that Mr. Braaten's testimony establishes that he cannot show that asbestos in packing and gaskets originally supplied with their products was asbestos to which he was exposed because he testified that he did not work with new pumps and that there was no way to tell whether and how many times gaskets and packing had been replaced in pumps and valves he worked on. ¶ 28 Turning first to Buffalo Pumps, the plaintiff relies on testimony of Buffalo Pumps' CR 30(b)(6) designee, Mr. Terrence Kenny, who testified that Buffalo Pumps supplied pumps that contained gaskets and packing with asbestos in them, from the 1940s up through the early 1980s. Mr. Kenny testified that when Buffalo Pumps sold equipment, it included asbestos-containing gaskets and packing if specified in the order for the pumps. He was unaware of any orders that did not specify packing and gaskets. ¶ 29 The evidence is undisputed, however, that Buffalo Pumps did not manufacture the gaskets and packing included in its pumps, and it was not in the chain of distribution of replacement packing or gaskets. And, as mentioned, Mr. Braaten's testimony shows he did not work on new pumps and so would not have been exposed to gaskets or packing in new pumps supplied by Buffalo Pumps. He changed gaskets to flanges exterior to pumps, but never removed gaskets internal to a Buffalo Pumps' pump. There is no evidence that Buffalo Pumps furnished flange gaskets with its pumps. There is also no evidence that Buffalo Pumps manufactured, sold, or supplied replacement gaskets. ¶ 30 As to DeLaval Pumps supplied by IMO's predecessor, again, Mr. Braaten did not work with new pumps, did not remove interior gaskets, and was not exposed to internal components of the pumps. And, as with the other pumps, Mr. Braaten testified that it was impossible to know how many times gaskets and packing had been replaced prior to his work on DeLaval pumps. Mr. Braaten only worked on pumps in service for some time. ¶ 31 With regard to defendant IMO, the plaintiff points to a copy of a list of spare parts sent to the Naval Supply Depot in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, in August 1947, which includes packing rings. There is no reference to asbestos, however, and nothing linking this list to any product on ships on which Mr. Braaten worked. ¶ 32 With respect to Crane Company, the plaintiff points out that a Crane Company catalog advertised asbestos packing for use with Crane valves as well as other asbestos products, including asbestos insulation. As Crane responds, however, the catalog also lists nonasbestos-containing packing and gasket material. ¶ 33 Finally, as to defendant Yarway, the plaintiff submitted the deposition of Yarway's expert, Horace Maxwell, who testified that between 1908 and 1982 Yarway manufactured a multitude of products that included asbestos-containing parts in them. Among them were boiler trim valves that had asbestos-containing packing and valves, a kind of valve that Mr. Braaten testified he worked on. However, to repeat, Mr. Braaten testified that packing and gaskets were routinely and periodically replaced as part of the regular maintenance of valves. As mentioned, Mr. Braaten testified it was impossible to know whether gaskets and packing that he removed from the valves were original or had been replaced before he worked on the valves, as with the other defendant-manufacturers. Yarway did not supply, manufacture, or supply replacement packing and gaskets to which Mr. Braaten was exposed. ¶ 34 [U]nder traditional product liability theory, the plaintiff must establish a reasonable connection between the injury, the product causing the injury, and the manufacturer of that product. In order to have a cause of action, the plaintiff must identify the particular manufacturer of the product that caused the injury. Lockwood v. AC & S, Inc., 109 Wash.2d 235, 245, 744 P.2d 605 (1987). Here, the injury-causing products were the products containing asbestos. The evidence is insufficient to establish that Mr. Braaten was exposed to the asbestos-containing packing or gaskets in the products when they were originally supplied rather than replacement packing and gaskets which were not designed, manufactured, specified, or supplied by the manufacturers. The plaintiff has not established a connection between the injury and the manufacturers' products themselves, as is required. ¶ 35 We hold that the defendant-manufacturers had no duty under common law products liability principles to warn of exposure to asbestos in the thermal insulation applied to their products by the navy because a manufacturer generally has no duty to warn of hazards associated with another manufacturer's products. There is insufficient evidence to create a material issue of fact with respect to whether the manufacturers had a duty to warn of the hazards of asbestos-containing packing and gaskets in or connected to their pumps and valves, and as a matter of law they had no duty to warn of these hazards.