Defendants Awarded Summary Judgment After Court Finds Claims Barred by Bare Metal, Government Contractor Defenses

NEWARK, N.J. –– An award of summary judgment has been entered in favor of General Electric, A.W. Chesterton and Westinghouse, after a federal court determined that the claims fail under the government contractor and bare metal defenses.

In the June 24 opinion, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey found that the defendants could not be held liable for asbestos insulation it knew would be used with its products.

Plaintiffs Kenneth and Barbara Shearer contended that Kenneth Shearer came into contact with asbestos-containing products while serving in the U.S. Navy. The plaintiffs alleged that General Electric failed …