Category Archives Judge Peace

In a decision emphasizing the continuing viability of medical-monitoring class actions, the Missouri Court of Appeals clarified plaintiffs’ burden of proof at the class-certification stage by holding that the trial court may not consider expert testimony or other evidence that contradicts the plaintiffs’ theory of the case. In Elsea v. U.S. Engineering Company, No. 77687 (Mo. App. W.D. Mar. 17, 2015), the plaintiffs sought certification under Mo. Rule 52.08(b)(3) (the state-law counterpart to Rule 23(b)(3)) of a class of individuals who had spent two consecutive weeks or eighty hours in the Jackson County Courthouse after the defendants had performed a retrofit of the building.  According to the plaintiffs’ allegations and experts, asbestos dust was blown and tracked through the courthouse during the retrofit, putting putative class members at a significantly increased risk for latent disease.  The plaintiffs sought recovery of compensatory damages for the expense of necessary prospective medical monitoring. Following…