The record
In October 1973 a Whittaker executive instructed all salesmen and staff not to answer customer questions about asbestos in talc and to refer them to three named executives, calling it “a very delicate situation.”
Claim scope
A dated, verbatim internal information-control instruction issued within ten days of the FDA's own record of methodological discrepancy.
What this source does not establish
The court expressly held this and the surrounding evidence insufficient to establish malice. It is an information-routing instruction, not an admission of contamination.
Limitations
McNeal is the most valuable opinion in this set for timeline purposes because the court sets out the internal documents in an explicitly dated month-by-month chronology (headings 'a. August 1971' through 's. May 1977'). CRITICAL COUNTERWEIGHT: the court REVERSED the punitive damages award, holding the same evidence did not establish malice, oppression or fraud. Any use of McNeal must carry that disposition. The documents are verified as recounted; the culpability inference was rejected by this court.
Source
Case Citation — McNeal v. Whittaker, Clark & Daniels, No. B313472 (Cal. Ct. App. 2d Dist. Div. 8, July 5, 2022) (published; reporter cite UNVERIFIED)