N.Y. Court Allows Causation Testimony Without Frye Hearing

RIVERHEAD, N.Y. - A New York trial court ruled July 5 that a plaintiff's experts can testify that a fatal case of aspergillosis was caused by exposure to spores from a municipal composting facility and it will be up to the jury to weigh its importance. Dobin v. Town of Islip, et al., No. 93-26755 (N.Y. Sup., Suffolk Cty.).

New York Supreme Court Justice Robert W. Doyle said a Frye hearing on admissibility was not needed because plaintiff's experts' theory that aspergillus fumigatus spores can pose a 'grave threat' to persons with suppressed immune systems is not novel.

Frances Dobin …