Ruling Defines Asbestos Product ID Standard for 'Direct Evidence' Cases

PHILADELPHIA - An asbestos plaintiff need only provide evidence that he inhaled asbestos fibers shed by a manufacturer's product, and not that he was exposed to the product with regularity and frequency, in order to overcome a motion for summary judgment based on product identification, a state appeals court has ruled. Hollingsworth v. AC&S, et al., No. 872 EDA 2002 (Pa. Super. Ct.).

In a decision issued March 4, the Pennsylvania Superior Court said that a trial court erred when it awarded summary judgment to defendant CertainTeed after determining that the plaintiff failed to sufficiently produce such evidence.

The plaintiff, …