News Brief
Toxics Law Reporter Quotes Carl Pernicone on Failure to Establish Causation in Fracking Contamination Claim
Carl Pernicone (Partner-White Plains) is quoted in an article, “Dismissal of Texas Family’s Fracking Claims Upheld for Failing to Establish Causation,” in the October 15, 2015, issue of Bloomberg BNA’s Toxics Law Reporter. The article concerned a recent Texas appeals court decision that sustained the dismissal of a fracking suit because of the plaintiff’s failure to offer expert testimony in support of its causation argument. Commenting on the recurring problem of causation for plaintiffs in fracking suits, Carl explained, “The plaintiffs raised a red flag that they had causation problems when the complaint disclaimed recovery for disease … It’s difficult to establish injury, so plaintiffs often will include a medical monitoring claim.” Because the underlying suit was in the nature of a toxic tort claim, the court held that expert testimony was necessary to link plaintiff’s symptoms to defendants’ fracking operation.