Calif. Appeals Court Reverses Crane Co. Judgment, Cites MDL Misstep on Sophisticated User

SAN FRANCISCO — A California appeals court has reversed an award of summary judgment to Crane Co. in an asbestos case, ruling that the court incorrectly based its decision on a federal court’s misinterpretation of the sophisticated user doctrine under California law.

In an Oct. 8 opinion, the First District California Court of Appeal ruled that as a result of the federal court’s misapplication of the defense, among other reasons, the plaintiffs were not — as the trial court held — collaterally estopped from pursuing failure to warn claims against Crane.

The San Francisco Superior Court had issued the ruling …