R.I. Court Awards Summary Judgment to Crane Co., Says Defendant Can’t Be Held Liable for Third-Party Replacement Parts

PROVIDENCE, R.I. –– A Rhode Island court has awarded summary judgment to Crane Co. in an asbestos case, finding that the plaintiffs had failed to establish that the decedent was exposed to gasket, packing, or replacement parts manufactured by the defendant.

In the March 13 decision, the Rhode Island Superior Court applied Maine law, under which a manufacturer cannot be held liable for injuries caused by defective products that were manufactured or sold by a third-party.

Rudolph and Dorothy Allen filed the instant lawsuit in 2015, contending that Rudolph Allen’s work as a plumbing-heating tradesman and, later, as a …