Analysis: Review of Washington appellate court decisions

Numerous appellate decisions have applied strict liability to claims arising from exposures to asbestos that occurred before the adoption of § 402A. See e.g. Mavroudis, 86 Wn. App. at 22 (upholding a jury verdict finding strict liability under pre-WPLA law based on inadequate warnings of exposure occurring between 1957 and 1963); Van Hout v. Celotex Corp., 121 Wn.2d 697, 853 P.2d 908 (1993) (holding that under pre-WPLA law, strict liability should have been applied for exposure occurring between 1946 and 1980); Krivanek v. Fibreboard Corp., 72 Wn. App. 632-33, 865 P.2d 527 (1993) (upholding a jury verdict based on pre-WPLA strict liability standards for exposure occurring between 1953 and 1986); Falk v. Keene Corp., 113 Wn.2d 645; 782 P.2d 974 (1989) (holding that the WPLA did not change the standard to negligence—it remained strict liability as explained in § 402A and as adopted by Ulmer and Tabert—and remanding for application of strict liability to claims arising from exposure between 1947 and 1953); Lockwood v. AC&S, Inc., 109 Wn.2d 235, 744 P.2d 605 (1987) (upholding a jury verdict finding AC& S strictly liable for exposure to asbestos occurring between 1942 and 1972). In none of these cases did the court limit the application to the specific facts of each situation.