Analysis: Strict product liability applies to Lunsford

Because Ulmer and Tabert adopted § 402A strict product liability, and Mavroudis, Van Hout, Krivanek, Falk and Lockwood all applied the theory to claims regarding exposure to asbestos to the parties before the court, Robinson requires that strict product liability apply to Lunsford. It does not matter that none of those courts applied the Chevron Oil test; the issue of retroactivity is already resolved with respect to asbestos exposure claims.

Even if it applied, the Chevron Oil test required the announcement of a new rule in those cases, not application of an existing rule. In this case the question is whether the rule of strict liability for asbestos exposure applied in Mavroudis, Van Hout, Krivanek, Falk and Lockwood may be applied to Lunsford. This is a question of application of an existing rule to a new fact pattern, rather than an announcement of a new rule. Neither selective prospective application nor purely prospective application of strict liability is available to Saberhagen.