High Court Rejects Substantial Contribution Requirement in Lawsuits with Multiple Defendants

ATLANTA -- Georgia's highest court has denied John Crane's appeal of a nearly $2 million verdict, rejecting the asbestos defendant's contention that a plaintiff alleging that multiple defendants proximately caused a plaintiff's injury must also prove that each individual defendant's product was a substantial contributing factor to the alleged injury. John Crane v. Jones, et al., No. S03G1791 (Ga. Sup. Ct.).

In the Nov. 8 opinion, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that the plaintiff already must show proximate cause and an additional 'substantial contributing factor' is unnecessary.

Writing for a unanimous court, Justice Harris Hines said,'[r]efusing to endorse the additional …