Wash. Court Awards Summary Judgment on Product Liability Claims in Asbestos Case

SEATTLE –– A Washington federal court has awarded summary judgment to Lockheed Shipbuilding Co. on product liability claims, concluding that the company was not in the chain of manufacturing and selling asbestos-related products.

In the Oct. 8 opinion, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington opined that the defendant was providing the service of producing vessels and that the vessel was the product in the circumstances of the case.

Plaintiffs Gleen and Betty Hassebrock filed the underlying complaint, contending that Gleen Hassebrock encountered asbestos-containing products while working as an apprentice and journeyman pipefitter at the Puget Sound …