The record
The McNeal court REVERSED the punitive damages award, holding the evidence did not establish malice, oppression or fraud by clear and convincing evidence.
Claim scope
MANDATORY COUNTERWEIGHT. The same court that laid out the fullest dated documentary chronology held it insufficient for punitive liability. The page must not present McNeal's chronology as a finding of corporate culpability.
What this source does not establish
It does not disturb the documents themselves, and the court did not disturb the compensatory verdict on this appeal.
Limitations
The court also recorded that the scientific link between talc and mesothelioma was not made until long after the exposure period: its expert testimony was that one of the first medical case reports associating mesothelioma with cosmetic talc use was in 1994. That state-of-the-art point is central to the defence timeline and must be represented.
Source
Case Citation — McNeal v. Whittaker, Clark & Daniels, No. B313472 (Cal. Ct. App. 2d Dist. Div. 8, July 5, 2022) (published; reporter cite UNVERIFIED)