The California Supreme Court heard oral argument in O’Neil v. Crane Co. The Court’s decision will likely define an important area of strict products liability law in California – specifically, it will expand or limit the duty of product manufacturers to warn about the hazards of replacement parts made by others that are subsequently incorporated by the purchaser into the manufacturer’s original product.

O’Neil arises out of the plaintiff’s exposure to asbestos-containing gaskets and packing materials used in and around the defendants’ valves and pumps, which were incorporated by the Navy into the steam propulsion system aboard the USS Oriskany, where the plaintiff served while he was enlisted. Though the pumps and valves delivered to the Navy originally incorporated asbestos-containing gaskets and packing, all parties agreed that by the time plaintiff served aboard the Oriskany, the original asbestos packing and gaskets had been removed and replaced with packing and gaskets manufactured by third parties. Nevertheless, the plaintiff argued the pump and valve manufacturers had a duty to warn him regarding the hazards of asbestos.

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