The record
A May 1977 CTFA task force on round-robin testing reported that its objectives of verifying Method J4-1 as accurate, reliable and practical “have not yet been achieved.”
Claim scope
A dated (May 17, 1977) industry admission that its own adopted method had not been shown to work. Independently corroborated by PMID 31095409, which cites the same May 17, 1977 CTFA task force minutes, names J&J's John Schelz as its chair, and quotes: “These objectives have not yet been achieved [emphasis in original]”.
What this source does not establish
An unvalidated method is not proof 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. Dual-sourced (published opinion + PMID 31095409). PMID 31095409 supplies the J&J chairmanship, which McNeal does not.
Source
Case Citation — McNeal v. Whittaker, Clark & Daniels, No. B313472 (Cal. Ct. App. 2d Dist. Div. 8, July 5, 2022) (published; reporter cite UNVERIFIED)