In Williams v. Mosaic Fertilizer, LLC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit recently held that regulatory emissions standards are “unreliable predictors” of the dose at which exposures to emissions become harmful to human health. 889 F.3d 1239, 1248 (11th Cir. 2018). The opinion teaches toxic-tort practitioners the valuable lesson that expert general-causation testimony grounded in overprotective regulations might not pass Daubert scrutiny.
Background
Williams involved a Floridian’s allegations that a fertilizer facility’s emissions—particularly, sulfur dioxide—had traveled to her home and caused her to develop adverse pulmonary conditions, including obstructive pulmonary disease.