The Pennsylvania Supreme Court recently reaffirmed several important principles in toxic tort exposure, specifically asbestos, cases. See Howard, et al. v. A.W. Chesterton Co., et al., Nos. 48 EAP 2012, 49 EAP 2012 and 50 EAP 2012 (Pa. Sept. 26,2013).

Plaintiff alleged personal injury from exposure to dust from defendant’s asbestos-containing products. The common pleas court awarded summary judgment in favor of defendants/appellants, reasoning that plaintiff’s deposition testimony failed to establish that he breathed asbestos-containing dust from the products manufactured or distributed by appellants, and the court also found expert affidavits submitted by plaintiffs represented insufficient proof of actual exposure.  On appeal, the Superior Court reversed on the basis that dust may have been invisible to the naked eye, and the expert affidavits were sufficient to establish exposure to dust which was a substantial causal factor in plaintiff’s injury.

The Supreme Court reversed the intermediate appeals court, and in so doing reaffirmed several key principles of state law:

–The theory that each and every exposure, no matter how small, is substantially causative of disease may not be relied upon as a basis to establish substantial-factor causation for diseases that are dose-responsive. See Betz v. Pneumo Abex, LLC, 44 A.3d 27, 55-58 (Pa. 2012).

— Relatedly, in cases involving dose-responsive diseases, expert witnesses may not ignore or refuse to consider dose as a factor in their opinions. See id.

— Bare proof of some de minimus exposure to a defendant’s product is insufficient to establish substantial-factor causation for dose-responsive diseases. See Gregg v. V-J Auto Parts, Inc., 943 A.2d 216, 225-26 (Pa. 2007).

— Relative to the testimony of an expert witness addressing substantial-factor causation in a dose-responsive disease case, some reasoned, individualized assessment of a plaintiff’s or decedent’s exposure history is necessary. See Betz, 44 A.3d at 55-58.

— Summary judgment is an available vehicle to address cases in which only bare de minimus exposure can be demonstrated and where the basis for the experts testimony concerning substantial-factor causation is the any-exposure theory. See Betz, 44 A.3d at 55-58; Gregg, 943 A.2d at 227.

In an interesting procedural twist, during arguments before the Supreme Court, plaintiff conceded that the Superior Court had erred in its ruling — an apparent attempt to have the Supreme Court not reiterate the points that some lower courts in the state inexplicably continued to not apply.  Nevertheless, in light of the intensely protracted nature of asbestos litigation, the Court decided to provide at least some limited guidance.  Indeed, as explained in detail in the unanimous decision in Betz, the any-exposure opinion is simply unsupportable both as a matter law and science.

(Note that my colleague Mark Behrens was involved in the amicus briefing on behalf of the Coalition for Litigation Justice.)