Del. Court Awards Summary Judgment to Cleaver-Brooks, Says Defendant Can’t Be Held Liable for 3rd-Party Replacement Parts

WILMINGTON, Del. –– A Delaware court has awarded summary judgment to Cleaver-Brooks in an asbestos case, concluding that the plaintiff failed to show that the decedent was exposed to asbestos in a product manufactured by the defendant.

In the July 11 opinion, the Delaware Superior Court noted that under Massachusetts law, which governs the underlying claims, a defendant cannot be held liable for a product it did not manufacture.

Plaintiff Dorothy Charbonneau asserted the claims on behalf of her husband, Robert Charbonneau, contending that he was exposed to asbestos-containing gaskets and refractory components in Cleaver-Brooks boilers. Charbonneau encountered the boilers …