To what extent a supplier of raw materials be liable


Assignment task: "In  the  1970s,  Special  Electric  Company  brokered the  sale  of  crocidolite  asbestos,  which  is  the  most toxic form of asbestos, to Johns-Manville Corpora-tion.  Special  Electric  never  held  possession  of  the asbestos, only receiving a commission for the sale of it from a mining company in South Africa to Johns-Manville.  Bags  of  crocidolite  did  not  bear  OSHA warning labels until the 1980s.One of Johns-Manville's signature products was Transite  pipe.  Although  the  formula  for  Transite pipe did not call for crocidolite, traces of it could be found  because  recycled  materials  from  other  dam-aged products were used to make it. Johns-Manville sold  Transite  pipe  to  various  distributors,  one  of which sold the pipe to Pyramid Pipe & Supply Co. The  plaintiff  of  this  case,  William  B.  Webb,  was  a warehouse  and  truck  driving  employee  at  Pyramid Pipe.  He  handled  Transite  pipe  for  a  decade.  The pipe  had  no  warning  labels  despite  leaving  a  dusty residue when handled. Additionally, Webb was not""informed that Transite dust could cause cancer, and he was not instructed to wear a respirator.In  2011,  Webb  was  diagnosed  with  mesothe-lioma,  a  fatal  cancer  usually  caused  by  inhaling asbestos.  Webb  and  his  wife  subsequently  sued multiple  companies  under  strict  liability  and  negli-gence claims, finally coming to trial against Special Electric  and  two  other  companies.  Although  the jury returned a verdict in favor of Webb, the court granted a judgement notwithstanding the verdict in favor of Special Electric, asserting that Special Elec-tric was not liable for failure to warn. After a series of  appeals,  the  case  was  heard  by  the California Supreme Court. To  what  extent  do  you  think  a  supplier  of  raw materials should be held liable to the ultimate users of the finished product? Look up the sophisticated intermediary defense.  Do you think this defense applies in this case?"

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