Court Applies 'Frequency, Regularity and Proximity' Test to Product ID Standard

JACKSON Miss. -- The Mississippi Supreme Court has awarded summary judgment to asbestos defendant Monsanto, officially adopting the frequency, regularity and proximity test as the standard in establishing product identification. Monsanto Co. v. Bobby G. Hall, et al., No. 2004-IA-00918-SCT (Miss. Sup. Ct.).

The Oct. 6 opinion by the high court elaborates on a decision released earlier this year that adopted the frequency, regularity and proximity standard for determining exposure and proximate cause.

In that decision, the Supreme Court reversed the denial of summary judgment to Gorman-Rupp, finding the asbestos plaintiffs had failed to 'submit any evidence that demonstrated that …