Raymond J. Kline v. Johns-Manville, and Pittsburg-Corning Corporation

CANBY, Circuit Judge:

This case presents the question whether California’s rule imposing liability on a successor corporation for its predecessor’s defective products applies when the successor purchases not the entire assets of the predecessor, but only one part of the predecessor’s business. The district court refused to apply successor liability in cases of partial acquisition. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

From 1936 until 1962, Unarco manufactured an asbestos pipe insulation product called “Unibestos.” Unibestos was only one of hundreds of products manufactured by Unarco. In 1962, Unarco sold its…