ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Maryland's highest court has ruled that asbestos companies are not liable for illnesses suffered by household members of people who brought the carcinogenic fibers home with them.

The Court of Appeals on Monday ruled that Georgia-Pacific Corp. was not obligated to warn relatives of the dangers of asbestos in the 1960s. The court says the hazard was not sufficiently known until federal regulations were issued in 1972.

The court's ruling overturns a $5 million verdict to a woman who was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma. Jocelyn Farrar had been exposed while doing her grandfather's laundry in the late 1960s.

The Daily Record reports that a jury in Baltimore found Georgia-Pacific was responsible for $5 million of Farrar's damages in October 2009. The Court of Special Appeals affirmed that ruling.