Appellate Court Reverses $6 Million Verdict, Cites BorgWarner Standards

HOUSTON -- A Texas appellate court has reversed a $6 million verdict because the plaintiffs failed to quantify the amount of exposure specifically to Georgia-Pacific's joint compound products in accordance with the new standards outlined in BorgWarner v. Flores. Georgia-Pacific Corp. v. Stephens, et al., No. 01-05-00132 (Texas 1st Dist. Ct. App.).

In the July 26 opinion, the Texas First District Court of Appeals opined that the plaintiffs' experts failed to quantify evidence of exposure and provide evidence of a minimum exposure level, justifying a reversal of the verdict.

"Applying the Texas Supreme Court's test in Borg-Warner for specific …