Lockheed Litigation Cases (2005) 23 Cal.Rptr. 762 [nonpub. decision]

Horvitz & Levy LLP has represented ExxonMobil and Unocal in a series of mass toxic tort appeals arising from injuries allegedly suffered by some 640 plaintiffs following exposure to a variety of organic solvents. (Click here to read about our success in obtaining reversal of a $760,000,000 punitive damages award in a prior Lockheed Litigation case.)

In this latest Lockheed Litigation case, involving the retrial of 24 of the 640 plaintiffs’ claims, the trial court excluded the testimony of plaintiffs’ sole causation expert on grounds that there was no adequate foundation for the expert’s opinion, and then granted summary judgment for the defendants. The Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s exclusion of the plaintiffs’ expert testimony, confirming the discretion that trial judges have under California law to exclude expert testimony lacking an adequate foundation, and holding that trial courts must determine “whether there is a reasonable basis for an expert opinion under Evidence Code section 801, subdivision (b)” by examining “the matter that the expert relied on in forming his or her opinion.” (Typed opn., p. 13.) The trial court “must not weigh the probative value of the opinion, substitute its own opinion for the expert’s opinion, or presume to be an expert,” but must instead determine “whether the matter relied on can provide a reasonable basis for the opinion or, on the other hand, reveals that the opinion is based on a leap of logic, conjecture, or artifice.” (Ibid.)

NOTE: In 2005, the California Supreme Court granted review in the case, but two years later, on November 1, 2007, dismissed review in light of new circumstances that required a majority of the permanent members of the court to recuse themselves. As a result, the Court of Appeal’s decision affirming summary judgment for the defendants remains decisive of the case.

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