Izell v. Union Carbide Corporation

Case Updates

The petition was denied.

In its amicus letter, the Chamber urged the California Supreme Court to review a decision by the California Court of Appeal that adopted the controversial “any-exposure” or “single-fiber” theory of asbestos liability. Under this widely discredited theory, a plaintiff need only demonstrate that he inhaled any amount of asbestos—no matter how small the dose—in order to establish causation and hold a defendant liable. The Chamber’s letter argued that the decision is at odds with black letter law causation requirements and could trigger yet another wave of asbestos lawsuits in California courts.

Fred A. Rowley, Jr. of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP served as counsel for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on behalf of the U.S. Chamber Litigation Center.