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Component Parts Manufacturers in the Cross Hairs

By Sarah L. Olson
May 26, 2010

Over the last 20 years, plaintiffs have bankrupted many major manufacturers of asbestos and asbestos-containing products. As a result, for the last several years, plaintiffs allegedly injured by asbestos exposure have targeted manufacturers of pumps, valves and other equipment, claiming that asbestos-containing insulation used in and around those products has injured them. These suits have resurrected a long-simmering dispute over the scope and application of the component parts doctrine to shield parts manufacturers from liability for harms caused by the finished product into which their non-defective parts are placed.

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