Evidence
7 evidence entries recorded; each entry has a stable permalink (#ev-1 … #ev-7).
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[1]research packet gy-packet.md (1 sources cited) [nhhc_danfs]
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- Identity packet verdict: VERDICT: VERIFIED
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Evidence ID
- uss-rupertus-dd851-pkt-gy-packet-md
-
[2]Elorreaga v. Rockwell Automation, Inc., 666 F. Supp. 3d 1032 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 31, 2023) (N.D. Cal. No. 4:21-cv-05696-HSG, docketed as Elorreaga v. ABB, Inc.); rev'd and remanded, Elorreaga v. ViacomCBS Inc., No. 23-16041 (9th Cir. Oct. 3, 2024) (unpublished memorandum) [court_record]
- Locator
- 666 F. Supp. 3d 1032 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 31, 2023) = N.D. Cal. 4:21-cv-05696 ECF No. 194 (RECAP available); MTD order 2022 WL 2528600 = ECF No. 138 (2022-07-07, RECAP available); expert-motions order = ECF No. 193 (2023-03-30); 9th Cir. No. 23-16041 memorandum pp. 2-5 (DktEntry 67-1, filed 2024-10-03)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- Published federal asbestos litigation naming this hull: the district court's order recites that Roberto Elorreaga 'served aboard the USS Rupertus (DD-851) from October 1959 to January 1960 as a machinist mate' (and aboard USS Cowell (DD-547) October 1960-February 1963), and that plaintiffs alleged mesothelioma from asbestos-containing products/equipment aboard Navy vessels and in naval shipyards - including asbestos associated with General Electric electrical equipment (control panels, arc chutes, cable) and Westinghouse electrical components and turbines, with deposition testimony recalling a Westinghouse propulsion turbine in the Rupertus aft engine room. The order denied defendants' summary-judgment motions and granted plaintiffs partial summary judgment holding the Boyle government-contractor defense inapplicable to federal maritime claims (666 F. Supp. 3d at 1046). The Ninth Circuit, on 28 U.S.C. 1292(b) interlocutory review, reversed and remanded (unpublished memorandum, No. 23-16041, filed Oct. 3, 2024): Boyle does not supply the standard, but defendants may assert a government-contractor defense under Yearsley v. W.A. Ross Constr. Co., 309 U.S. 18 (1940), which the district court erred by failing to consider. Elorreaga died October 2021; his widow and sons continued the action. The N.D. Cal. docket (suitNature: asbestos personal injury-product liability; removed under 28 U.S.C. 1442 federal-officer removal; filed 2021-07-26) terminated 2025-03-24.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1959-1960 (alleged exposure aboard this hull); litigation 2020-2025
- Population
- Roberto Elorreaga (USN machinist mate aboard DD-851 Oct. 1959-Jan. 1960; malignant pleural mesothelioma, decedent); similarly situated engineering-crew sailors
- Limitations
- Litigation-stage discipline: the exposure allegation is pleaded and recited - never adjudicated on exposure facts. The district court ruled on a legal defense (government-contractor immunity) and damages availability, not on whether asbestos exposure occurred aboard or which products were involved; the Ninth Circuit's reversal is on the immunity standard only (Yearsley vs. Boyle), leaving the exposure record at the pleadings/summary-judgment stage. Product attributions (GE electrical equipment; Westinghouse components/turbines) are allegations and deposition recollections, not findings. Does not establish causation, quantity, or condition of ACM aboard. The published district opinion is not in CourtListener's opinion corpus (verified by exact-name and surname searches) but the filed order is in RECAP as ECF No. 194; cite is the reporter citation plus RECAP dockets: district https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/60082775/ and appeal https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/68129658/.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-rupertus-dd851-01
-
[3]DANFS, Rupertus (DD-851) (builder, dates, service narrative, disposal; verbatim transcription - live NHHC page returns 404; hazegray.org down, text via 2021-04-19 Wayback capture) [nhhc_danfs]
- Locator
- DANFS entry, specifications block + full service narrative (hazegray dd851txt.htm via Wayback)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- DANFS record for this hull: laid down 2 May 1945 by Bethlehem Steel Co., Quincy, Mass.; launched 21 September 1945, sponsored by Mrs. William H. Rupertus; commissioned 8 March 1946, Comdr. William C. F. Robards in command. Shakedown Guantanamo Bay; Panama Canal transit to San Francisco; Tsingtao China deployments (one of the last three U.S. ships out before the port fell, 1949). Korea from November 1950: escorted Sicily to Hungnam; TF 95 blockade/escort in the Yellow Sea from 14 May 1951; shore bombardment near Songju; continuous combat until 4 July 1951; second tour from 23 February 1952 with TF 77, Hungnam-Hannum bombardment with Manchester, pilot rescue under fire from Boxer; overhaul at Long Beach Naval Shipyard beginning 6 October (1952); 1953 tour screening Bremerton (CA-130). Annual WestPac deployments; Yokosuka homeport 1960; returned San Francisco 13 December 1962, then FRAM I overhaul replacing WWII armament with integrated ASW suite (ASROC and DASH); temporary homeport Long Beach. Vietnam era: Taiwan Patrol, post-Tonkin South China Sea, Gemini IV support (1965), Market Time, naval gunfire support, GT-9A recovery (1966); on 29 July 1967 maneuvered within 20 feet of the burning Forrestal (CVA-59) for three hours fighting fires, cooling magazines, and rescuing personnel; Sea Dragon operations and shrapnel hits off Dong Hoi; Apollo 7 recovery. Further WestPac deployments through 1972; much of 1970 in drydock at San Diego. Spring 1973 INSURV inspection found her unfit for further service; offered to the Hellenic Navy on loan, decommissioned 10 July 1973 and concurrently transferred/recommissioned as Kountouriotis (D-213). Seven battle stars for Korea.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1945-1973
- Population
- Bethlehem Fore River construction trades 1945-46; crews 1946-73; Long Beach Naval Shipyard workers (1952 overhaul); FRAM yard workers (1962-63, yard unnamed)
- Limitations
- DANFS documents service history and specifications, not materials or asbestos content. The FRAM I overhaul yard is not named; the 1970 drydock location is identified only as San Diego (no specific facility named). Mirror transcription cited because the live NHHC page returns 404 and hazegray.org is unreachable (Wayback capture dated 2021-04-19).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-rupertus-dd851-02
-
[4]Naval Vessel Register, RUPERTUS (DD 851) vessel-status page (NAVSEA; Wayback capture 2024-08-22; record last updated 2001-12-31) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NVR SHIPSDETAIL DD 851 page: Vessel Status block (status, dates, custodian)
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NVR official record for this hull: class DD 710 (Gearing); UIC 52151; Stricken Date 07/10/1973; Status 'Disposed of through the Security Assistance Program (SAP), transferred, cash sale, ex-US fleet hull foreign military sale case number assigned'; date status changed 07/01/1978; custodian Greece. Establishes the strike date, the loan-then-SAP-sale disposal path, and Greek custody.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1973-1978 (disposal record)
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- NVR status page only - milestone and physical-characteristic fields are blank for this pre-1987 disposal; does not document asbestos, materials, or the loan-agreement terms. Wayback capture cited because the live NVR page redirects to a generic index (pre-1987 disposal).
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-rupertus-dd851-03
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[5]NavSource Naval History, USS Rupertus (DD-851) destroyer archive page (volunteer-compiled ship file; Wayback capture 2023-09-23) [other_primary]
- Locator
- NavSource DD-851 page: Operational and Building Data block + machinery line
- Finding type
- vessel_history
- Finding
- NavSource operational/building data for this hull: laid down by Bethlehem Steel, Quincy, 2 May 1945; launched 21 September 1945; commissioned 8 March 1946; 'Completed FRAM upgrade November 1963'; decommissioned and stricken 10 July 1973; to Greece 10 July 1973, renamed Kountouriotis; stricken (by Greece) 1995; 'Reported to be laid up in Souda Bay Crete as of 1-98.' Machinery block lists '60,000 SHP; Westinghouse Turbines, 2 screws' (ship-specific attribution differing from the class-standard GE listing); crew 336; callsign NBDJ. Namesake biography (Maj. Gen. William H. Rupertus, USMC) sourced to the USMC History Division photo caption.
- Verification
- partial
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1945-1998
- Population
- FRAM yard workers (Nov. 1963 completion, yard unnamed); Greek crew 1973-1995
- Limitations
- NavSource is a reputable volunteer-compiled secondary source, not a primary document - dates agree with DANFS/NVR where they overlap. The Westinghouse-turbine attribution (vs. class-standard GE) is not independently verified against a Navy machinery record; it is consistent with - but not proven by - the Elorreaga deposition's recollection of a Westinghouse propulsion turbine aboard. Greek-era disposition after the January 1998 lay-up report is not tracked.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-rupertus-dd851-04
-
[6]CourtListener API v4 sweeps: "USS Rupertus" (type=o, 0 results), Rupertus (type=o, 9 results - all name collisions), Elorreaga (type=o, 6 results - all name collisions; published district opinion not in corpus), Elorreaga (type=r, 50 dockets - qualifying asbestos dockets for N.D. Cal. 4:21-cv-05696 and 9th Cir. 23-16041) [court_record]
- Locator
- CourtListener API v4 search results (queries logged in search_ledger sl-04 through sl-07)
- Finding type
- litigation_documented
- Finding
- CourtListener sweep results for this hull: the only qualifying asbestos litigation located is the Elorreaga action (district docket 4:21-cv-05696, 'Elorreaga v. ABB, Inc.', suitNature 'P.I.: Asbestos', removed under 28 U.S.C. 1442; appeal docket 23-16041, 'Roberto Elorreaga v. ViacomCBS Inc.', asbestos-PI suitNature, terminated 2024-10-03). The exact-name docket sweep "USS Rupertus" (type=r) returned exactly one docket - the Elorreaga action - with RECAP documents ECF 138 (2022-07-07 motion-to-dismiss order), ECF 193 (2023-03-30 expert-motions order), and ECF 194 (2023-03-31 summary-judgment order = 666 F. Supp. 3d 1032) available. Opinion-index searches returned zero ship references and only surname collisions (Indiana probate/estate cases 1903-1920; unrelated parties named Elorreaga). No other qualifying litigation, MDL-875 transfer, or trust-claim record naming this hull was located in reviewed index text.
- Verification
- verified
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- ship_specific
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 2026-09-28 (search date)
- Population
- n/a
- Limitations
- Index-level sweep: full RECAP document text of the district complaint and exhibits was not retrieved (the ship-naming recitals are verified via the filed orders themselves). The bare hull-number sweep "DD-851" (type=r and type=o) remained blocked by fleet pacing throttles at report time - logged pending in the search_ledger; identifier-collision noise is expected for hull-number queries and no additional hull-naming case is expected because 'Rupertus' is a distinctive name, but the ledger is flagged incomplete rather than silently closed.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-rupertus-dd851-05
-
[7]DANFS specifications block (Gearing class; 35 kt, cpl. 376) + NavSource machinery line (Westinghouse turbines, 60,000 shp) + gearing-class.class.json + Atlas shipyard dataset (bethlehem-shipbuilding, long-beach-naval-shipyard tier records) [other_primary]
- Locator
- DANFS spec block; NavSource machinery line; gearing-class.class.json ev-04 (Goodrich drawing recital); shipyards.json yard records
- Finding type
- asbestos_application
- Finding
- Era/yard inference: a Gearing-class destroyer built 1945 at Bethlehem Steel's Fore River yard (Quincy) with a 60,000-shp geared steam plant (4 Babcock & Wilcox superheated boilers class-standard) falls inside the Navy's peak asbestos-insulation era - boiler casing and fireroom insulation, steam-pipe lagging, turbine lagging, valve/flange gaskets and packing, and accommodation fireproofing would have been class-standard; the Goodrich omnibus opinion (E.D. Va. 2018) recites a class engineering drawing specifying amosite felts and asbestos cloths for forced-draft blower turbines on the Sumner/Gearing machinery design. Documented shipboard events consistent with insulation disturbance: a major FRAM I modernization (completed November 1963) and extended 1970 drydock time at San Diego; Long Beach Naval Shipyard overhaul October 1952. Builder and overhaul yards resolve in the Atlas dataset (bethlehem-shipbuilding; long-beach-naval-shipyard).
- Verification
- inferred
- Role
- supporting
- Documentation level
- class_or_era
- Accessed
- 2026-09-28
- Study period
- 1945-1973
- Population
- Bethlehem Fore River construction trades 1945-46; crews 1946-73; yard workers (1952 LBNSY overhaul; 1962-63 FRAM; 1970 San Diego drydock)
- Limitations
- Class/era and builder-yard inference only - the ship-specific finding for this hull is the Elorreaga litigation record (ev-01); this row adds context, not an independent ship-specific finding. The Goodrich drawing recital covers the class machinery design, not this hull's as-built materials; no quantities are established for DD-851.
- Atlas source
- true
- Evidence ID
- ev-uss-rupertus-dd851-06