Pa. Supreme Court to Revisit ‘Any Exposure’ Theory, Consolidation in Asbestos Cases

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has agreed to hear Ford Motor Co.’s appeal of a $1 million asbestos verdict the car maker says was based on expert testimony that fell short of the state’s requirement for demonstrating that a particular exposure was a substantial contributing factor in the plaintiff’s asbestos-related disease.

In a Nov. 6 order, the state high court granted Ford’s petition for appeal in the case, indicating it would resolve the issue of whether an asbestos plaintiff may satisfy the burden of establishing substantial-factor causation by asserting a so-called “any-exposure” theory that courts have rejected in …