The MDL transferee court has denied the summary judgment motion of the manufacturer of an allegedly toxic ingredient in Stand ‘n Seal grout sealer. In re Stand ‘N Seal Products Liability Litigation, 2008 WL 2622793 (N.D.Ga.), No. 1:07-MDL-01804 (6/26/08). The motion focused on the apparent inability of 67 plaintiffs to demonstrate exposure to the product, which in turn meant they could not show causation. Proof of exposure is a recurring theme in toxic tort litigation, and MassTortDefense has blogged on it here.

Stand ‘n Seal originally contained an ingredient called Zonyl, according to the court’s recitation. The manufacturers substituted one ingredient, Innovative Chemical Technologies, Inc.’s product, Flexipel S-22WS, for Zonyl in 2005; some users then complained of respiratory problems, leading to a recall. Numerous personal injury actions were consolidated in a multidistrict litigation overseen by Judge Thomas W. Thrash of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia.

ICT’s motion sought to dismiss the group of 67 plaintiffs on the basis that they could not prove their exposure to the Stand ‘n Seal product with Flexipel. Generally, plaintiffs must show that the product that allegedly caused their injuries was, in fact, manufactured or supplied by the defendant in this case.

According to Judge Thrash, some of these plaintiffs lacked a can identification number – typical product identification evidence – because they threw away their cans of Stand ‘n Seal. Others, he said, retain a can that contains Zonyl, but claim they used more than one can of Stand ‘n Seal. The court found that under applicable Georgia law such plaintiffs could use circumstantial evidence to meet their burden of proving exposure to the ingredient. In an interesting turn of phrase, the court stated that ICT had not presented clear and positive evidence that all of the Plaintiffs used cans containing only Zonyl. Under the summary judgment standard, defendant as the moving party did not have that burden. Rather, defendant needed to show there was genuine issue of fact, and plaintiffs’ lack of relevant evidence was certainly part of that showing.

The court concluded that the plaintiffs subject to this motion should be allowed to present individualized circumstantial evidence that they were exposed to cans containing Flexipel. “Such evidence could include testimony concerning the smell of the product. It could include testimony as to the date and place of the purchase of the product.” In a typical case, the plaintiff would have had to make such a showing to defeat summary judgment. But here, in the MDL. the timing of summary judgment motions can be atypical. Accordingly, the court held that the presentation of such individualized evidence by the plaintiffs could occur following remand to the transferor courts or before bellwether trials in this MDL court.