Air & Liquid Systems Corp. v. DeVries

Two U.S. Navy veterans, John DeVries and Kenneth McAfee, developed fatal mesothelioma after being exposed to asbestos while servicing pumps, blowers, and turbines on naval ships. Their widows sued the equipment manufacturers in federal court under maritime law. The manufacturers employed a "bare-metal defense," arguing they had no duty to warn about asbestos-containing insulation or gaskets that were added by the Navy after sale. The U.S. Supreme Court resolved a circuit split, affirming that under maritime tort law, a product manufacturer has a duty to warn when its product requires incorporation of a part, the manufacturer knows or has reason to know that the integrated product is likely to be dangerous for its intended uses, and the manufacturer has no reason to believe that the product’s users will realize that danger.

In a 6-3 decision authored by Justice Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court held that the manufacturers had a duty to warn under the described circumstances. The Court affirmed the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and remanded the cases for further proceedings consistent with its opinion.

Whether a manufacturer of bare-metal equipment has a duty to warn end-users about the dangers of asbestos-containing components that are necessarily integrated into the equipment post-sale by a third party.

The ruling significantly impacted product liability law in the maritime context, clarifying that the bare-metal defense is not absolute. It established that manufacturers face a foreseeable duty to warn about dangerous third-party add-ons essential to their equipment's function. The decision opened the door for numerous similar asbestos-exposure claims by Navy veterans and prompted equipment manufacturers to reassess their warning practices and litigation strategies.