Asbestos Peddler Not a 'Mere Conduit' in Product Supply Chain, Court Rules

DOVER, Del. - A supplier of an asbestos-containing sweeping agent is not entitled to summary judgment on claims that it failed to warn workers that exposure to the product could cause them harm, a state Supreme Court has ruled. In Re: Asbestos Litigation, No. 704-2002 (Del. Sup. Ct.).

Reversing a lower court decision granting judgment to chrysotile fiber supplier Charles A. Wagner Co., Inc., the Delaware Supreme Court ruled that contrary to the supplier's assertion that it cannot be held liable for the workers' injuries as a 'mere conduit' of the product, and not its manufacturer, the question of whether …