Georgia Supreme Court to Address “Every Exposure” Theory of Causation in Asbestos Cases
August 8, 2015 (Atlanta, GA) – The Georgia Supreme Court granted a petition for certiorari filed by Hawkins Parnell & Young partner Rob Gilbreath seeking review of the Court of Appeals’ decision in Scapa Dryer Fabrics, Inc. v. Roy and Milva Knight. The court of appeals affirmed a trial court judgment for the Knights, rejecting Scapa’s challenge to their expert’s reliance on the so-called “every exposure” theory of specific causation. Under that theory, a plaintiff’s causation expert makes no effort to quantify the plaintiff’s exposure to asbestos fibers from a defendant’s product or at a defendant’s premises, but instead testifies that every exposure is causative of the plaintiff’s disease. Courts around the nation have rejected this every-exposure theory as junk science. Scapa will be arguing that the Georgia Supreme Court should join those courts rejecting the theory.