Fla. Supreme Court Reinstates $8 Million Asbestos Verdict, Says Frye is Appropriate Test in Florida Courts

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. –– The Florida Supreme Court has ordered the reinstatement of an $8 million asbestos verdict, ruling that the court improperly relied on a Daubert standard of admissibility and concluding that an amendment enacted by the state Legislature requiring the use of Daubert infringed on the court’s rulemaking authority.

In the Oct. 15 opinion, the Florida Supreme Court held that because the causation of mesothelioma is neither new nor novel, the “trial court’s acceptance of the expert testimony was proper.”

As such, the high court remanded the case to the intermediate appellate court with instructions to remand to the …