Dennis v. Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation, 23-4283

Rosa Dennis, individually and as successor-in-interest to Patrick Dennis, sued Foster Wheeler Energy Corp. and Foster Wheeler LLC.
The suit related to alleged harm from asbestos in boilers used in naval warships, which were built to Navy specifications.
Dennis requested jury instructions on strict liability and punitive damages in her claims.
The district court denied Dennis’s requested jury instructions.
Dennis appealed, contesting the denial of the strict liability and punitive damages instructions.
The Navy procured the boilers through a custom process, specifying all design elements including the required use of asbestos.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Strict products liability	Boilers should be subject to strict liability as products.	Boilers were custom-built for the Navy, not commercially distributed products.	No strict liability; boilers not in general stream of commerce.
Punitive damages instruction	Entitlement to jury instruction on punitive damages.	Not applicable if strict liability is excluded.	Not addressed due to strict liability holding.

McIndoe v. Huntington Ingalls Inc., 817 F.3d 1170 (9th Cir. 2016) (naval warships and their components custom-built to government specifications are not considered 'products' for purposes of strict products liability)
United States v. Hairston, 64 F.3d 491 (9th Cir. 1995) (de novo standard applies to review of district court’s rejection of proposed jury instructions)