O'Neil v. Crane Co. and Warren Pumps, LLC

Case Updates

The California Supreme Court held that a product manufacturer may not be held liable in strict liability or negligence for harm caused by another manufacturer’s product unless the defendant’s own product contributed substantially to the harm, or the defendant participated substantially in creating a harmful combined use of the products.

NCLC urged the California Supreme Court to reject liability for product manufacturers who do not warn about hazardous substances used by others in combination with their products. In this case, a third party affixed products containing asbestos to those sold by Crane Co. and Warren Pumps. California's Second District appeals court ruled that the companies could be held liable for failing to warn about the asbestos, but California's First District has previously held that manufacturers are not liable for failing to warn. In its brief, NCLC described the asbestos litigation environment and argued that expanding the post-sale duty to warn represented unsound public policy.