Court Rules Federal Defense Doesn't Apply to Failure-to-Warn Claims

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. -- A federal court has remanded a third-party asbestos exposure case, ruling that it had no jurisdiction because the case did not include products liability claims. Epperson, et al. v. Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., et al., No. 05-2953 (E.D. Va.).

In the Jan. 11 opinion, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia found that the plaintiff properly asserted failure-to-warn claims in his motion for judgment, therefore precluding the applicability of the government contractor defense.

Plaintiff Lacy T. Epperson Jr. asserted the lawsuit on behalf of his mother, who he claims was exposed to asbestos …