R.I. Court Awards Summary Judgment in Third-Party Component Parts Dispute, Applies Maine Law

PROVIDENCE, R.I. –– Applying Maine law, a Rhode Island court has awarded summary judgment to a burner manufacturer in an asbestos suit, saying that the state has rejected the application of foreseeability arguments when it comes to the dangers of third-party products.

In the Jan. 13 ruling, the Rhode Island Superior Court concluded that the plaintiffs had failed to meet their burden on product nexus, “failing to provide sufficient evidence of either an original Wayne product or a third-party product actually distributed or recommended by Wayne to Decedent, and summary judgment is appropriate.”

The plaintiffs alleged in their complaint that …