MDL Court Issues Memo Clarifying its Adoption of Bare Metal Defense Under Maritime Law

PHILADELPHIA –– The federal court overseeing the national asbestos products liability multidistrict litigation docket has issued an order explaining its decision to adopt the bare metal defense under maritime law, saying that it had “concluded that maritime law’s application of the defense rejects potential liability of a product manufacturer in negligence for products that it did not manufacture or supply.”

The May 19 memorandum from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania was in direct response to a 3rd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals request for clarification of its decision to adopt the defense.

The plaintiffs asserted …