N.J. Supreme Court: Asbestos Defendants Can Be Held Strictly Liable for Failure-to-Warn of Third-Party Replacement Parts

TRENTON, N.J. –– The New Jersey Supreme Court has affirmed an intermediate court holding that manufacturers in asbestos cases can, under limited circumstances, be found strictly liable for failure-to-warn of dangers associated with component and replacement parts manufactured by a third-party.

In the June 3 opinion, the state high court concluded that the state’s “evolving common law jurisprudence in the field of failure-to-warn, strict-liability cases involving asbestos-containing products leads to a result that aligns with similar decisions rendered” by states across the country, including the U.S. Supreme Court, that have recognized a “strict-liability duty to warn of the dangers of …