In Paraquat MDL, Hollingsworth LLP Urges 7th Circuit to Uphold Exclusion of Plaintiffs’ General Causation Expert under Rule 702
news | October 4, 2024
On October 2, 2024, Hollingsworth LLP filed an amicus curiae brief in the Seventh Circuit to support Judge Nancy J. Rosenstengal’s exclusion of plaintiffs’ sole general causation expert, Dr. Martin Wells in the In re Paraquat Liability Litigation, an MDL in the Southern District of Illinois where more than 5,000 plaintiffs allege they developed Parkinson’s disease from exposure to paraquat.
The brief highlights the purpose behind the 2023 amendments to Rule 702 to underscore the district court judge’s important gatekeeping role in ensuring that unreliable science is excluded from the jury. The brief makes clear that the district court must ensure the expert’s testimony is reliable under all four subparts of amended Rule 702, including whether the expert’s conclusion reflects a reliable application of his or her methodology. It also explains that courts that allow unreliable expert testimony deprive defendants of due process and a fair trial.
Hollingsworth LLP continues to be at the forefront of the Rule 702 amendments and issues of admissibility of expert testimony. Counsel for the amicus brief were firm partners, Eric G. Lasker and Elyse A. Shimada, and Lawrence S. Ebner of Atlantic Legal Foundation.