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  • ROBERT ROSS et al VS. C.C. MOORE & CO. ENGINEERS ASBESTOS document preview
  • ROBERT ROSS et al VS. C.C. MOORE & CO. ENGINEERS ASBESTOS document preview
  • ROBERT ROSS et al VS. C.C. MOORE & CO. ENGINEERS ASBESTOS document preview
  • ROBERT ROSS et al VS. C.C. MOORE & CO. ENGINEERS ASBESTOS document preview
  • ROBERT ROSS et al VS. C.C. MOORE & CO. ENGINEERS ASBESTOS document preview
  • ROBERT ROSS et al VS. C.C. MOORE & CO. ENGINEERS ASBESTOS document preview
  • ROBERT ROSS et al VS. C.C. MOORE & CO. ENGINEERS ASBESTOS document preview
  • ROBERT ROSS et al VS. C.C. MOORE & CO. ENGINEERS ASBESTOS document preview
						
                                

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oyu Dd WILLIAM M. HAKE, ESQ. (SBN 110956) Bill. Hake@wilsonelser.com ELECTRONICALLY JEREMY C. BERLA, ESQ. (SBN 267331) FILED Jeremy.Berla@wilsonelser.com Palplardat lebceleh od coda ROCKFORD M. HEARN, ESQ. (SBN 269074) County of oie Frevicteco Rockford. Hearn@wilsonelser.com WILSON, ELSER, MOSKOWITZ, 08/13/2015 EDELMAN & DICKER LLP BY:RONNIE OTERO 525 Market Street, 17th Floor Deputy Clerk San Francisco, CA 94105-2725 Telephone: (415) 433-0990 Facsimile: (415) 434-1370 Attorneys for Defendants ADVANCE MECHANICAL CONTRACTORS, INC. ANDERSON, ROWE & BUCKLEY, INC. BELL PRODUCTS, INC. COLLINS ELECTRICAL COMPANY, INC. EMIL J. WEBER ELECTRICAL COMPANY, INC. IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA IN AND FOR THE COUNTY OF SAN FRANCISCO ROBERT ROSS AND JEAN ROSS, Case No.: CGC-10-275731 Plaintiffs, EXHIBIT E TO DECLARATION OF JEREMY C. BERLA IN SUPPORT OF vs. JOINT DEFENSE MOTION IN LIMINE TO EXCLUDE EXPECTED TRIAL C.C. MOORE & CO., ENGINEERS, et al., TESTIMONY AND DEPOSITION TESTIMONY OF DR. DAVID Defendants. SCHWARTZ, OR IN THE ALTERNATIVE, REQUEST FOR AN EVIDENCE CODE SECTION 402 HEARING Complaint: December 17, 2010 Trial Date: August 10, 2015 1 EXHIBIT E TO DECLARATION OF JEREMY C. BERLA IN SUPPORT OF JOINT DEFENSE MOTION IN LIMINE TO EXCLUDE EXPECTED TRIAL TESTIMONY AND DEPOSITION TESTIMONY OF DR. DAVID SCHWARTZ, OR IN THE ALTERNATIVE, REQUEST FOR AN EVIDENCE CODE SECTION 402 HEARING 1425652v.1EXHIBIT ESUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES Department 48 Hon. Elizabeth A. White, Judge Jeraldine Nicholson, et al., Plaintiffs, vs. Case No: BC413220 Asbestos Defendants, et al., Defendants. CERTIFIED COPY REPORTER'S DAILY TRANSCRIPT OF PROCEEDINGS FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2011 APPEARANCES: For the Plaintiffs: Brayton Purcell, LLP BY: JAMES P. NEVIN, ESQ JANETTE H. GLASER, ESQ. KSENIA L. SNYLYK, ESQ. 222 Rush Landing Road PO Box 6169 1940 Novato, California 94948-6169 (415) 898-1555 For Defendant: Selman Breitman, LLP Amcord: BY: RHONDA L. WOO, ESQ. BRAD D. BLEICHNER, ESQ. 33 New Montgomery Sixth Floor San Francisco, California 94105 (415) 979-0400 (Appearances continued next page.) Reported by: Louis R. Machuca, CSR No. 12274 Official Court ReporterAPPEARANCES CONTINUED: For Defendant George M. Raymond: Foley & Mansfield, PLLP BY: T. ERIC SUN, ESQ. DOUGLAS G. WAH, ESQ. THOMAS J. TARKOFF, ESQ. 300 Lakeside Drive Suite 1900 Oakland, California 94612 (510) 590-9595 For Defendants Kaiser Gypsum and Hansen Permanente Cement: DeHay Elliston, LLP BY: BRIAN YASUZAWA, ESQ. TODD J. SUDDLESON, ESQ. 800 West 6th Street Suite 788 Los Angeles, California 90017 (213) 271-2727 For Defendants Thompson Building Materials and Westside Building Material Corp.: Law, Ball & Lynch BY: PAMELA Y. LOUIE, ESQ. GUY W. STILSON, ESQ. 505 Montgomery Street 7th Floor San Francisco, California 94111 (415) 981-6630 For Defendant Lear Siegler: Law Offices of Keesal, Young & Logan BY: ELIZABETH A. KENDRICK, ESQ. 400 Oceangate 8th Floor Long Beach, California 90802 (562) 436-2000 For Defendant Highland Stucco: Archer Norris BY: JOSEPH V. MACHA, ESQ. 333 South Grand Avenue Suite 1700 Los Angeles, California 90071 (213) 437-4000APPEARANCES CONTINUED: For Defendant Mowery-Thomason, Inc. and Reischel & Cottrell, Inc.: Bassi Edlin Huie & Blum, LLP BY: ANTONIO P. GARCIA, Jr., ESQ. 351 California Street Suite 200 San Francisco, California 94104 (415) 397-9006 For Defendant Hendricks Builder Supply Company: Brydon Hugo & Parker BY: SHAGHIG D. AGOPIAN, ESQ. 135 Main Street 20th Floor San Francisco, California 94105 (415) 808-0300 For Defendant Frontier Building Supply Company: Law Offices of Prindle, Amaro, Goetz, Hillyard, Barnes & Reinholtz, LLP BY: CARLA LYNN CROCHET, ESQ. 310 Golden Shore 4th Floor Long Beach, California 90802 (562) 436-3946 For Defendant Fishback & Moore Building Supply Company, now known as XFM, Inc.: Sinunu Bruni, LLP BY: CHRISTOPHER B. BRUNI, ESQ. 333 Pine Street Suite 400 San Francisco, California 94104 (415) 362-9700INDEX Friday, June 24, 2011 EXAMINATION Witness Name DAVID A. SCHWARTZ, M.D. (Called by plaintiffs) Direct Examination By Voir Dire Examination Voir Dire Examination Voir Dire Examination Voir Dire Examination Direct Examination By Cross-Examination By Cross-Examination By Cross-Examination By . Suddleson Cross-Examination By . Stilson.. Redirect Examination Mr. Nevin EXHIBITS Exhibit Description Identification Evidence Curriculum vitae of 7 86 David A. Schwartz, M.D. 12/18/10 David A. Schwartz, M.D.'s clinical noteCase Number: BC413220 Case Name: Jeraldine Nicholson, et al. vs. Asbestos Defendants, et al. Los Angeles, California Friday, June 24, 2011 Department 48 Judge Elizabeth A. White Appearances: (As heretofore noted.) Reporter: Louis Machuca, CSR No. 12274 Time: Morning Session (Proceedings began at 9:37 a.m.) THE COURT: Good morning. We're on the record in Nicholson versus Amcord, Case Number BC413220. We have quite a few counsel present in the courtroom. What I will ask counsel to do is, starting from my left at plaintiff's counsel table, we'll start with the names of counsel. And then we'll move to my right and then we'll start in the first row of the jury box and then move to the last row of the jury box. And if you could please state your name and who you represent clearly and articulately for our court reporter. Thank you. MR. NEVIN: Good morning, Your Honor. James Nevin from Brayton Purcell for the plaintiffs. MS. GLASER: Good morning, Your Honor. Janette Glaser from Brayton Purcell for the plaintiffs. MS. WOO: Good morning, Your Honor. Rhonda Woofrom Selman Breitman for Amcord. MR. SUN: Good morning, Your Honor. Eric Sun on behalf of George M. Raymond Company. MR. YASUZAWA: Good morning, Your Honor. Brian Yasuzawa on behalf of Kaiser Gypsum and Hansen Permanente Cement. MR. SUDDLESON: Good morning, Your Honor. Todd Suddleson also on behalf of Kaiser Gypsum and Hansen Permanente Cement. MS. LOUIE: Good morning, Your Honor. Pamela Louie on behalf of Thompson Building Materials and Westside Building Material Corp. MR. STILSON: Good morning, Your Honor. Guy Stilson also on behalf of Westside and Thompson. MR. TARKOFF: Thomas Tarkoff for George Raymond. MS. KENDRICK: Good morning, Your Honor. Elizabeth Kendrick on behalf of Lear Siegler. MR. MACHA: Good morning, Your Honor. Joseph Macha on behalf of Highland Stucco. MR. GARCIA: Good morning, Your Honor. Antonio Garcia for Mowery-Thomason, Inc. and Reischel & Cottrell, Inc. MS. AGOPIAN: Good morning, Your Honor. Shaghig Agopian for Hendricks Supply Company. MS. CROCHET: Good morning, Your Honor. Carla Crochet on behalf of defendant Frontier Building Supply Company. MR. BRUNI: Good morning, Your Honor.Christopher Bruni on behalf of Fishback & Moore, Incorporated, now known as XFM, Inc., and we've resolved this matter. I wanted to let the court know. THE COURT: All right. I appreciate it. Thank MS. SNYLYK: Good morning, Your Honor. Ksenia Snylyk on behalf of the plaintiffs. THE COURT: All right. Thank you so much. Who is representing Cal Portland? MR. NEVIN: They resolved, Your Honor. THE COURT: All right. So the motion which was before the court, Motion in Limine Number 19 which was filed by Cal Portland has been joined in by the other defendants? MR. SUN: Yes, Your Honor. THE COURT: Ali right. All right. For today's hearing, we're conducting a hearing outside the presence of the jury under Evidence Code Section 402. The jury has not yet been called. Clearly, a jury has not yet even been empanelled. We handled a number of the motions in limine previously, but we set a hearing date today for purposes of the 402 hearing on Defense Motion in Limine Number 19, which is captioned as "Motion in Limine to Preclude Plaintiff's Testimony of a Causal Association Between Asbestos Exposure and Colon Cancer," or in the alternative, request for a Kelly hearing, which is, essentially, what we're doing here today under EvidenceCode Section 402. I assume plaintiffs have an expert who is ready and able to testify? MR. NEVIN: Yes, we do, Your Honor. THE COURT: And the name of that expert. MR. NEVIN: Dr. David Schwartz. THE COURT: All right. And Dr. Schwartz, where is he? Is he in the courtroom? All right. Sir, if you would please come forward. All right. And, Dr. Schwartz, if you would please face the clerk and raise your right hand to be sworn. THE CLERK: Right here, sir. Do you solemnly state that the testimony you may give in the cause now pending before this court shall be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help you God? THE WITNESS: I do. THE CLERK: Please be seated. Sir, would you please state and spell your name for the record. THE WITNESS: David Albert Schwartz, S-c-h-w-a-r-t-z. THE CLERK: Thank you. THE COURT: All right. And you may proceed. MR. NEVIN: Thank you, Your Honor. DAVID A. SCHWARTZ, M.D., called as a witness on behalf of the plaintiffs, was sworn and testified as follows:DIRECT EXAMINATION BY MR. NEVIN: Good morning, Dr. Schwartz. What kind of a doctor are you? Q A Good morning. Q A I'm an internist, a pulmonologist, a specialist in occupational medicine. Q What does it mean to be an internist? A It means that you have gone through medical school, then been specifically trained in adult medicine during a three-year residency training program. And then that qualifies you to sit for the boards and then I took the boards. And you pass the boards and then you're a board certified internist. Q What is pulmonary medicine? A Pulmonary medicine is a specialty beyond internal medicine, and it involves a three-year fellowship beyond the internal medicine training program where you practice pulmonary medicine, learn pulmonary medicine. You qualify to sit for the boards, you take the boards, and then you -- then you're board certified. If you pass the boards, you're a board certified pulmonologist. Q What is occupational medicine? A Occupational medicine is a separate set of boards separate from internal medicine. It is a preventative medicine board, and it requires going to the school of public health, getting a master's inpublic health and, at the same time, learning specifically occupational medicine. That qualifies you to sit for the boards. And then one takes the boards and then that person is a board certified occupational medicine physician. And I took the boards and passed the boards in that case, as well. Q For how long have you been board certified? A I received my internal medicine boards in 1984. I passed my internal medicine boards in 1984. passed my occupational medicine boards in 1986 and my pulmonary medicine boards in 1988. Q Where do you currently practice? At the University of Colorado. A Q And what do you do there? A I'm chairman of medicine at the University of Colorado, and I also direct a center for genes environment and health. Q What are your duties as chairman? A The duties are to oversee a large diffuse department of medicine that involves various aspects of medicine: Pulmonary medicine; hematology; oncology; cardiology; all sorts of specialties in medicine. There are over 600 faculty in my department that I oversee and 13 different divisions. MR. NEVIN: Your Honor, may I approach? THE COURT: You may. MR. NEVIN: Doctor, I'd like to show you what I'vemarked as Plaintiff's Exhibit 111, and I have a copy for Your Honor as well. THE COURT: Thank you. (Exhibit 111 was marked for identification.) BY MR. NEVIN: Doctor, are you familiar with Yes, I am. And what is this document? It's my curriculum vitae. Does it accurately set forth your education, experience, publications and so forth? A Yes, it does. Where were you previously employed? A I was previously employed at National Jewish Health, and I was employed there to direct the center -- to build and direct the Center for Genes Environment and Health, which I still do since National Jewish health is only a few miles from the University of Colorado. Q Where did you work prior to that? A Prior to that, I was at the National Institutes of health, and I directed the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences and the national toxicology program. Q And what did your job duties -- what were your job duties as the director of the National Institute ofEnvironmental Health? A To oversee the allocation of grants in the area of environmental health sciences and to build programs in environmental health sciences and also interact with the other institute directors at the to create cross-disciplinary programs. Q Your C.V. lists a number of publications. Approximately, how many peer-reviewed journal articles have you been an author or co-author in? A Well, in aggregate, about 300. Q What does it mean to author in a peer-reviewed journal? A It means that you write something. You submit it to a journal. They review it anonymously by two different -- at least two different individuals, sometimes more than two different individuals. And then the journal editor decides that they will accept the paper based on the reviews and the response to the reviews. Q Approximately, what percentage of those articles were related to occupational disease? A Well, that's a little hard to say. So if strictly occupational diseases, I would say maybe about 25 of those articles; maybe at most 50. But I view many occupational diseases as an interaction between post determinants, like genetic factors, and exposures in the environment. And, in that context, almost all of them are related to gene environment or host environmentinteractions. Q Approximately, how many or percentage are related to asbestos? A Probably about 25, so relatively small percent. Q Have you also published in various medical textbooks? I have. Can you give us an example? I think there's a section in my C.V. that just focuses on textbooks, book chapters. It's on page 26 of my C.V. And there are over 50 publications in book chapters -- in books as chapters. And then, in addition, there are two texts -- two books, not textbooks but two books that I've written. Q Briefly review for us your education. A I went to the University of Rochester as an undergraduate and graduated there in 1975. And then I went to medical school at the University of California in San Diego. I graduated there in 1979. And then spent a year doing research at the National Science Foundation. Well, not at the National Science Foundation but in San Diego funded by the National Science Foundation. I got a grant while I was in medical school. And then I started my internal medicine residency in 1980 at Boston City Hospital. A What did you do in between that and your work10 for the National Institute of Environmental Health. Q Well, I was an intern and resident of Boston City Hospital between 1980 and 1983. Between 1983 and 1984, I was a chief medical resident at Boston City Hospital. In 1984, I went to the Harvard School of Public Health, and I got a master's in public health between 1984 and 1985. 1985, I went to Seattle, Washington, became a Robert Wood Johnson clinical scholar. Completed my occupational medicine residence and then started a pulmonary and critical care fellowship and completed that in 1988. In 1988, I got my first real job at the University of Iowa as an assistant professor in the pulmonary division in charge of the occupational medicine program and led the occupational medicine program for the next 12 years and built my research career at the same time. And in 2000, after being at the University of Iowa for 12 years, I was recruited to Duke University as director of the pulmonary and critical care division and also vice chair for research and also director of the center for environmental genomics. And I did that for five years between 2000, 2005; then went to the NIH as director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Q Over the course of your career, in addition to your research and your writing and your work as a11 director of various medical affiliates, have you had the opportunity to examine and interact with patients? A Yes. Tell us about that. A Well, when I went to the University of Iowa in 1988, I was not only hired as an assistant professor of medicine, but I was ~-- part of my job was to see patients, both in pulmonary medicine as well as occupational medicine. And when I started at the University of Iowa, we were seeing -- and I was also charged with directing the occupational medicine clinic there. So when I went to the University of Iowa, we were seeing about 50 patients a year in the occupational medicine clinic. When I left the University of Iowa, we were seeing over a thousand patients a year in the occupational medicine clinic. When I went to the University of Iowa in 1988, we weren't involved in the health care for the rest of the university faculty, and I believe there are 20,000 university faculty at the University of Iowa. When I left the University of Iowa in 2000, we were in charge of the occupational medicine program overseeing the care of individuals at the University of Iowa, the 20,000 individuals at the University of Iowa in terms of their occupational exposures, their hazards and their problems that they developed at the workplace. In addition, I was -- I was and still ama12 practicing pulmonologist, so I took care of patients in the intensive care unit and on the wards. And when I went to Duke University, I was director of the pulmonary and critical care division and would see -- would attend in the intensive care unit two months a year. So I would take care of patients on ventilators with severe lung diseases with house staff and with fellows to months of the year. When I went to the NIH, I ~~ because of a variety of different issues, I couldn't practice medicine because it just was not -- I didn't have the time, and it created problems for me to interact with universities, so I stopped practicing medicine in 2005. But when I went to National Jewish Hospital in 2008, I started seeing patients occasionally in the outpatient clinic. Q Over the course of your career participating in the care of patients, has that included patients with asbestos-related disease? A Yes. Q Can you ballpark for us approximately how many that might be? A Well, it's definitely over a thousand, and it's probably under 2,000, but I can't really ballpark it any better than that. Qo And, nowadays, how do you split your time between let's call it your real jobs and litigation-related consulting, like what you're here for13 today? A Well, I have a very busy schedule at work, and I would say that my real job occupies about 80 hours a week, 70 to 80 hours a week, including the work that I do as chair of medicine and the work that I do as head of the Center for Genes Environment and Health. And I would say that the litigation-related work is a few hours every other week or every -- every month. So it's a minimal time commitment in relationship to my other work. Q All right. Doctor, today, when I ask you for your opinion, I want you to respond only if your answer would be to a reasonable degree of medical certainty. Do you understand that? A Yes. Q Okay. and, Doctor, if we had a jury, I'd next ask you to go through what we call "lungs 101" and "colon 101," but with the court's permission I think we'll skip the basics and move to the meat of the issue. Is that okay, Your Honor? THE COURT: Well, I don't know what you mean by "basics" and what you mean by "the meat of the issue," so I'll let you determine what you feel is appropriate for purposes of the motion. MR. NEVIN: Thank you, Your Honor. Q BY MR. NEVIN: Doctor, well, give us a brief overview. How does asbestos get into the body? A The most common way it gets into the body isit's inhaled. Q Any other ways? A I would imagine that it can be ~-- that you can get it in your eyes and in the mucosal areas of your body and your nose, and it's possible that you could also swallow it by getting it in your mouth. Q What is the gastrointestinal tract or the GI tract? A - It's the tract that starts at your lips and ends at your anus. Q And we do know that asbestos reaches the colon. Do we know how it gets there? A It probably get there's because it's first inhaled into the lungs. MR. SUDDLESON: Object. Assumes facts not in evidence. THE COURT: Well, with respect to the answer, “it probably," I'm going to go ahead and strike the answer. "Probably" is not going to be sufficient for the court's purposes, so I'll ask you to rephrase the question and perhaps we can clarify that. Q BY MR. NEVIN: Does asbestos get to the colon? Yes. Does asbestos get to the lungs? Yes. Does asbestos get to the kidneys? Yes, it does. And are there various ways that asbestos getsto those places? A Yes. Q Now, in any one individual, we don't know exactly how asbestos got to a particular target location in their body, correct? A That's correct. Q But we do know the various ways that science has shown that asbestos reaches parts of the body, correct? A Yes. Q All right. So backing up, how does asbestos get to the lungs? A It's inhaled into the lungs. Q Okay. How does asbestos get to the pleura, which is the organ that surrounds the lungs? A After being inhaled into the lungs, it's taken up by inflammatory cells. Those inflammatory cells go into the lymphatics and the lymphatics then distribute those asbestos fibers in the pleura, as well as other organs throughout the body. Q The -- I'm sorry. A The second way it gets to the pleura is that it can work its way in the lung tissue and work its way to the plural surface through the lung tissue and break through the lungs. Q What are the lymphatics? A The lymphatics are a system in the -- a transport system in the body that moves a lymph, which16 is fluid and lymphatic cells or immune cells throughout the body. So the lymphatics are a major defense mechanism in the body that allow the lymphocytes to circulate, recirculate, get exposed to things and then come back to lymphoid centers, like the spleen and the thymus and lymph nodes, and communicate with those different organs to identify whether there are foreign agents that the body needs to try to eradicate, like a bacterial infection or a viral infection. It's a circulatory system. Q How does asbestos reach the colon? MS. WOO: Your Honor, objection. Lacks foundation. Calls for speculation. Specifically, this expert has no expertise in that regard. MR. NEVIN: It's the whole purpose of this 402 hearing. MS. WOO: Your Honor, I would like the opportunity to voir dire if he's allowed to give any opinion -- THE COURT: I'll allow voir dire. Go ahead. VOIR DIRE EXAMINATION BY MS. WOO: Q Good morning, Dr. Schwartz. A Good morning. Q Dr. Schwartz, do you have any specialized training, education or experience in determining the cause of colon cancer?17 MR. NEVIN: Objection. Vague. Overbroad. THE COURT: Overruled. THE WITNESS: I have experience in terms of occupational and environmental causes of colon cancer. I don't have specific experience in terms of treating colon cancer. Q BY MS. WOO: Do you hold yourself out to be an expert in the treatment of colon cancer? A No. Q Your areas of expertise involve the lungs; is that fair to say? MR. NEVIN: Objection. Vague. Misstates evidence. THE COURT: Overruled. THE WITNESS: My areas of expertise involve the lung, the environment, occupational diseases and the interaction between environmental slash occupational exposures and host defense factors. Q BY MS. WOO: You have some principal areas of research; is that fair to say? A That's correct. And those principal areas of research are A The principal -- the overarching theme of my research is to understand the interaction between genetic and environmental determinants of complex human diseases that are focused on pulmonary fibrosis, asthma and innate immunity. Q Have you done any research regarding the |18 Q In instances where you have diagnosed a patient with colon cancer, you refer the patient to a specialist; is that correct? A Yes. Q You've never been the primary care physician for a patient with colon cancer; is that fair to say? A Yes. Q And you've never published any peer-reviewed literature regarding asbestos as a cause of colon cancer; is that correct? A Yes, that's correct. Q You've never published anything on the topic of cancers and what causes cancer of the colon; is that fair to say? A That's two questions. Which one would you like me to answer? Q All right. Let me break it up for you. Have you ever published anything on the topic of what cancers are caused by exposure to asbestos? A Yes. Q And in those occasions where you've talked about or published on cancers and asbestos, did it include the colon? A No. Q Have you ever prepared any written materials, even though they weren't published, in any peer-reviewed19 literature summarizing your opinions whether asbestos causes colon cancer? A No. Q Have you ever conducted or participated in any epidemiological study to determine whether or not asbestos causes colon cancer? A No. Q Have you ever performed any animal studies for the purpose of determining whether asbestos causes colon cancer? A No. Q Other than asbestos as a cause of mesothelioma in lung cancer, have you ever lectured about asbestos as a cause of any cancer? A I may have given a talk early in my career in the relationship between asbestos and B-Cell lymphomas. QO And other than mesothelioma, lung cancer, and B-Cell lymphoma, have you ever lectured about asbestos as a cause of any other cancer? A No. Q Have you ever testified at trial regarding whether asbestos -- or excuse me, regarding asbestos as a cause of colon cancer? A No. MS. WOO: Those are my questions for now, Your Honor. MR. SUN: Your Honor, may I? THE COURT: Yes. And then we'll go back to thequestion that was posed by plaintiff. MR. NEVIN: I don't think this has anything to do with the question. THE COURT: I understand your position. You can sit down, by the way. MR. SUN: This is still part of the voir dire, Your Honor. THE COURT: Yes. VOIR DIRE EXAMINATION Q Yes, Dr. Schwartz, prior to your specialization in pulmonary medicine, you received training in the general anatomy of the body, correct? A Yes. Q Yes. Beyond that general training of the anatomy, have you received any other specialized training specific to the anatomy of the GI tract? A No. Q And have you ever participated in any animal research that specifically has to do with exposing animals to asbestos in such a way that would cause gastrointestinal abnormalities? No. Okay. Have you ever reviewed such studies? No. SUN: Thank you, Your Honor. COURT: All right. If we could -- I'm sorry.21 MR. SUDDLESON: I have some additional voir Your Honor. Should I do it from the box? THE COURT: That's fine right there. MR. SUDDLESON: Thank you. VOIR DIRE EXAMINATION BY MR. SUDDLESON: Good morning, Dr. Schwartz. Good morning. You are not an epidemiologist, correct? That's correct. You understand that the study of epidemiology is to relate causation to populations, correct? To study populations -- A I don't think it is, but I think it's more to try to understand the relationship between exposures and disease and to try to understand the causes of disease. Q With regard to cancers, the only way to determine the causation of a cancer is by epidemiology, correct? MR. NEVIN: Objection. Vague. THE WITNESS: No, I don't think so. THE COURT: He's answered. Overruled. Q BY MR. SUDDLESON: You cannot look at a specific tumor under a microscope and determine what caused it, correct? A That's correct. The reason we know that lung cancer can be22 caused by cigarette smoking is because of epidemiologic studies, correct? MR. NEVIN: Objection. Misleading. Incomplete -- THE COURT: Sustained. THE WITNESS: That's one of -- THE COURT: Sustained. Sustained. You don't need to answer. THE WITNESS: I'm sorry. THE COURT: That's all right. That's all right. Q BY MR. SUDDLESON: And you are not a epidemiologist, correct? A I thought I answered that. Q All right. And you agree that epidemiology is important in determining whether a substance can cause colon, correct? A It's one of the important factors, yes. Q Okay. And you have not studied the literature relating to whether asbestos causes colon cancer, correct? MR. NEVIN: Objection. Vague. Overbroad. THE COURT: Overruled. THE WITNESS: No, I have. Q BY MR. SUDDLESON: Okay. As I understand from your prior testimony, you are aware that there are some studies by Dr. Selikoff that suggests that there's a relationship between asbestos exposure and colon cancer, correct? A I think what I --23 MR. NEVIN: Objection. THE WITNESS: -- stated before was that I was aware that Selikoff had published a study and that there were a number of other studies that were published. And that if asked to provide additional information, I would review that literature before testifying. Q BY MR. SUDDLESON: And in this case, you gave a deposition, correct? A Yes. Q And you were asked if you could identify a single study that supported your position that asbestos could even cause colon cancer, correct? A That's correct. Qo You were not able to identify a single study, were you? MR. NEVIN: Objection. Vague as to "identify." THE COURT: Overruled. THE WITNESS: I hadn't yet reviewed the literature. Q BY MR. SUDDLESON: And you are aware that there are studies that show that there is no association between asbestos exposure and colon cancer, correct? A Yes. You have not reviewed those studies, have you? Q A Yes, I have. Q Okay. When you gave your deposition in this case, you testified that you had not reviewed those studies? A24 MR. NEVIN: Objection. Vague as to time. THE WITNESS: That's correct. THE COURT: Overruled. When he gave his deposition. Overruled. Q BY MR. SUDDLESON: And you gave your deposition in this case in April of this year? A Yes. Q And at that time, you were not familiar -- you had not reviewed the studies relating to asbestos exposure and colon cancer where there was no association shown, correct? MR. NEVIN: Vague as to time of review. THE COURT: At the time of his deposition. Overruled. THE WITNESS: Yes, that's correct. Q BY MR. SUDDLESON: Okay. And at the time of your deposition, you were not prepared to discuss with counsel the various studies that show or fail to show any association between asbestos exposure and colon cancer, despite the fact that you're aware that some exist? A That's correct. THE COURT: All right. Counsel, I think we're going beyond what's needed for voir dire and we're going into the cross-examination. So let's move back to the question that was posed when voir dire was requested. MR. STILSON: I have one question, if I may, Your Honor.THE COURT: On voir dire? MR. STILSON: On voir dire. VOIR DIRE EXAMINATION BY MR. STILSON: Q Sir, you're not an expert in colon cancer; is that correct? 25 MR. NEVIN: Objection. Vague. Asked and answered. THE COURT: It's been asked and answered. If we could go back to the question that was posed when counsel asked for voir dire. Thank you. MR. NEVIN: Let me first actually back up. THE COURT: Let's have the question first. MR. NEVIN: Okay. THE COURT: The court reporter will read back the question. THE COURT REPORTER: How does asbestos reach the colon? MS. WOO: Your Honor, so again, the objection is lacks foundation. Calls for speculation. THE COURT: I'm going to sustain the objection in light of the voir dire. DIRECT EXAMINATION (RESUMED) BY MR. NEVIN: Q Well, in light of voir dire, let's discuss some of these issues. First off, as to that specific question,26 somebody who finished medical school could probably answer that question, correct? MS. WOO: Calls for to speculation. Lacks foundation. THE COURT: Sustained. Q BY MR. NEVIN: You were asked if you do any animal research. You are, in fact, not a cellular biologist who specializes in exposing animals to asbestos, correct? A I have never -- I've been involved in one study in which animals were exposed to asbestos, but they were exposed to asbestos by another laboratory. Q Okay. And so the overall topic of exposing asbestos to animals and doing that cellular research is another field, not yours, correct? A Well, I would say it's a related field. Q But it's not something that you would personally undertake to do yourself? A Very few laboratories exposure animals to asbestos. Q And since you're not an epidemiologist, it's also -- doing mass epidemiology studies not something you would undertake to perform yourself either, correct? A That's correct. Q And since you're not an oncologist or GI specialist, it wouldn't make sense for you to actually be the treater of anyone suffering from colon cancer, correct?27 A That's correct. Q But that has nothing to do with causation, correct? MS. WOO: Objection. Lacks foundation. THE COURT: Sustained. Q BY MR. NEVIN: You were asked about epidemiology, and you responded that epidemiology is a tool, right? A Yes. Q And so a tool that's for use in determining causation in a particular individual? A I would characterize it as a methodology, yes. Q Okay. In your opinion, what limitations does epidemiology have when applied to a specific individual who has cancer such as colon cancer? A Epidemiology relates to populations not to individuals, and it's an extrapolation from those epidemiologic studies to the specific individual. Q Over the course of your career, before you would treat a patient, would you go back and reread all the literature on that subject before you went and treated the patient? A If I wasn't familiar with the literature, I would. Qo And when you were discussing your deposition and you said you hadn't reviewed literature, you meant -- did you mean for that particular deposition or did you mean you've never reviewed literature onasbestos and colon cancer ever? MS. WOO: The question was asked and answered at deposition, Your Honor, and this is just giving the plaintiff the -- THE COURT: If it was asked and answered at deposition, it's not a basis for an objection here in court. You may go ahead. Had you completed your question? MR. NEVIN: Yes. THE COURT: All right. You may answer. THE WITNESS: I did not review the literature for that specific deposition. Q BY MR. NEVIN: But, in the past, you have reviewed literature on asbestos in colon cancer? A Yes. Q Okay. And is that one of the tools that you use as one of the bases for your opinions on asbestos and colon cancer in Mrs. Nicholson? MS. WOO: Lacks foundation. Calis for speculation. May I voir dire, Your Honor? MR. NEVIN: This is all cause. THE COURT: Hold on. This is for cross-examination, but let me just clarify the question. You indicate, Doctor, that you didn't review literature before your deposition with regard to asbestos and colon cancer. Is the question specific to Mrs. Nicholson now? Perhaps we should --29 MR. NEVIN: Well, I could broaden it to anyone. THE COURT: Perhaps we should have the question read back, because, as I understand it, you were comparing before the deposition and after the deposition. And then after the deposition, you made it specific to Mrs. Nicholson, which was not the way the question was phrased previously, but I'll have the question read back. THE COURT REPORTER: Okay. And is that one of the tools that you use as one of the bases for your opinions on asbestos and colon cancer in Mrs. Nicholson? THE WITNESS: I think -- THE COURT: I'm going to sustain the objection. As specific to Mrs. Nicholson, there's no foundation. MR. NEVIN: Sure, and I meant to say like Mrs. Nicholson. THE COURT: Rephrase. MR. NEVIN: Sure. Where I'm going here is you were presented with a motion that said the literature is the end-all and be-all, and what Dr. Schwartz and I are trying to convey is it's one of the many pieces of puzzle. So I'm trying to talk about the puzzle. THE COURT: Well, the motion is specific to causation. It not specific, necessarily, to literature. It's specific to causation, so we're addressing causation. MR. NEVIN: Right.30 THE COURT: All right. Go ahead. Q BY MR. NEVIN: So in terms of -- let's take a step back. In your capacity as a specialist in occupational medicine, and you have an individual who is exposed to asbestos and develops what might be an asbestos related disease, what are the types of tools that you use to determine causation? A There have a variety of tools. So epidemiology, in other words, the literature in populations exposed to that agent is one of the tools. The second tool is to understand the inherent toxicity of that particular agent and the way in which that particular agent affects the body and cells in the body. The third tool is understanding how that particular agent causes disease; in other words, how disease progresses and changes and how one moves from health to disease as a result of that agent and/or other factors that are involved in the development of disease within that individual, related to that specific disease. Q Okay. Can we call that last one like clinical course or latency or what -- A I would call that one the interaction between the environment or the occupational exposure and the host defense mechanisms. Q So going back to the epidemiology tool, over the course of your career, have you had opportunity to31 review literature on asbestos and colon cancer? A Yes. Q Okay. And does that -- whether or not you keep those literature constantly in mind, do those form one of the bases of guidance for you in ~- when you look at causation in a particular individual? A Yes. Qo Okay. And the second area was toxicity. Does that include whether or not a substances is a carcinogen? Yes. Okay. Is asbestos a carcinogen? Yes, it is. What does it mean when asbestos is called a Class 1A human carcinogen? A Tt means that it can cause cells to change from normal cells to cancerous cells. And that being a Class 1 carcinogen, it's been shown to have the collective evidence in humans, in cells and in animals to cause specific types of cancer. Q And then the clinical -- or what I try to paraphrase as quote/unquote clinical course, does that start to get into the specific individuals, or are you still looking at it on a more global basis, when you look -- A Within specific individuals. Q And so within specific individuals when you either in a clinical setting or for a legal setting,what tools do you use with a particular individual to help you in determining cause? A Well, you place that in the context of other risk factors that that individual has, to identify whether they were more or less susceptible to that particular agent. And while we can define some of those risk factors in 2011, in the years to come, we're going to be able to define many, many, more of those risk factors in terms of susceptibility. Q Are you aware of other risk factors for colon cancer besides asbestos? A Yes. Tell us some. A Family history, a history of ulcerative colitis, a history of polyps and dietary factors. Q And in determining -- in order to get these risk factors history or lack thereof in a individual, how is that accomplished? How is that obtained? A By sitting down and talking with that individual. Q Okay. So some sort of exam has to be done? A An exam, a history, yes. Q Okay. Is it also important for an exposure history to be done? A Yes, it is. Why is that? A Well, in many cases, exposures that occur many years ago could influence the development of disease33 subsequently. Asbestos is a classic agent that causes disease many years after the initial exposure takes place. And so the patient may not be entirely aware of the exposures that they incurred that could have an affect on the development of disease. Q In determining whether or not an individual -- a colon cancer patiént has an asbestos caused colon cancer, is it important to look for markers of asbestos exposure? MS. WOO: Lacks foundation. Calls for speculation. THE COURT: Sustained. Q BY MR. NEVIN: When you, either in a clinical setting or a legal setting, look at an individual to determine causation, do you consider radiology? A Yes. Why? A Because that will give you additional evidence of exposure to asbestos. It will not only give you additional evidence of exposure to asbestos, it will give you additional evidence of substantial exposure to asbestos. Q And when you say "substantial," you mean a lot of exposure? A I mean a lot of exposure that's enough to cause pulmonary fibrosis or plural fibrosis. Q Is a finding of asbestosis a marker of that type of exposure? A Yes.34 Q Is it important to consider pathology, a pathology as available? MS. WOO: Vague and overbroad, Your Honor. Ambiguous. THE COURT: Overruled. THE WITNESS: Yes, it is. Q BY MR. NEVIN: Why is that? A Pathology can be helpful in many ways. Pathology can help define the disease more precisely than radiographic studies. Pathology can also be used as a way of identifying exposure to asbestos by identifying asbestos bodies. Q How about -— And asbestos fibers. Excuse me. Q How about tools such as a pulmonary function test? Is that important? MR. SUN: Objection. Your Honor, are we still talking about colon cancer here? MR. NEVIN: Yeah, we are. THE COURT: I'm going to allow it. Go ahead. THE WITNESS: Pulmonary function tests can be helpful as well. Q BY MR. NEVIN: When you look at an individual who has colon cancer and determine whether or not the colon cancer was asbestos caused, what do you look for? MS. WOO: Lacks foundation. Calls -- THE COURT: Sustained. Q BY MR. NEVIN: Why do you look for anything?35 Why not just say -- come in here and say asbestos causes colon cancer and we're done? MS. WOO: Same objections, Your Honor THE COURT: Sustained. MR. NEVIN: Your Honor, this is ridiculous. Their whole notion is that you can only decide this based on literature and it's just not true. And if I can't present how he determines causation, how do -- this is not even a fair 402 hearing. THE COURT: As I understand it, Counsel, he's never treated a colon cancer patient. He's done no studies with regard to colon cancer and its association with asbestos. He's clearly identified that he's not an epidemiologist. He is not someone who has a background in colon cancer in any respect. He doesn't treat patients with colon cancer. He hasn't done studies with regard to colon cancer and asbestos. He hasn't done animal studies. He hasn't done epidemiological studies. And now you're asking how he would determine the causation in any specific patient who has colon cancer. As I understand it, he's never treated a colon cancer patient. MR. NEVIN: A treater doesn't determine causation in asbestos. All those other entities, epidemiologists, animal study guys, they don't determine causation in asbestos. They give you one piece of the puzzle. Then the occupational medicine doctor, which is him, takes all those pieces and makes a determination. That's my36 point. So I have to ask him about all those pieces. THE COURT: Well, you're going to -- I'm going to sustain the objection, Counsel. You'll have to figure out another way to ask the question. Q BY MR. NEVIN: Doctor, the over course of your career in dealing -- you said you dealt with between 1,000 and 2,000 individuals suffering from asbestos-related disease, correct? A Yes, that's correct. Q All right. Do you have an estimate for how many folks you've seen also in the litigation context where you've ~~ your task has been to determine causation? A I would say, approximately, 500. Q Okay. So between 1500 and 2500 folks that you're looking at to determine whether or not this person has an asbestos-related disease, what are the big picture items that you look at? A First, one needs to define exposure and be certain that that individual was exposed to the agent. There are only three elements to this. Second, one needs to define disease an be certain that that individual has that particular type of disease. And the third element to this is the literature connecting that exposure with that disease given the dosing and the timing of the exposure in relationship to the onset of disease.37 Q So give us an example in a person with mesothelioma, how you would go about one, two and three? MS. WOO: Objection. MR. SUN: Objection. Relevance. THE COURT: Sustained. QO BY MR. NEVIN: Give us an example in relation to lung cancer how you would go about one, two and three. MS. WOO: Same objection, Your Honor. MR. SUN: Relevance. THE COURT: Sustained. Q BY MR. NEVIN: Is the process any different for determining causation in someone with colon cancer then it is for determining causation for someone with mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis, lymphoma, or any of the other asbestos-causing diseases? MS. WOO: Lacks foundation. Calls for speculation, Your Honor. MR. SUN: Objection. THE COURT: Sustained. Q BY MR. NEVIN: Doctor, in fact, isn't not that what you've done for between 1500 and 2500 patients? MS. WOO: Misstates testimony, Your Honor. He -- THE COURT: Sustained. He indicated that he had about 1,000 to 2,000 patients who were treated for asbestos-related disease. Of those 500, they were defined as having a disease that was related to asbestos, that he testified to.MR. NEVIN: No, that's not accurate, Your Honor. He saw in the clinical context patients between 1,000 and 2,000. And then he said he's seen, in the litigation context, an additional 500. I was putting the two numbers together. THE COURT: All right. Q BY MR. NEVIN: Either way, setting apart 38 together, there is a process as an occupational medicine specialist that you go through when you get one of these individuals to determine causation and determine what disease they have, correct? A Yes. Q So, for example, someone has fibrosis on their lungs, can you automatically assume, without any other analysis, that they have asbestosis? A No. Why not? A There are a number of causes of fibrosis, of pulmonary fibrosis, and asbestosis is only one of the causes of pulmonary fibrosis. Q So, in that context, you go through your analysis of exposure, disease and the literature? A Yes. Q Okay. And so, for example, you would take a medical history to determine if they had any other sources of fibrotic disease? A Yes. MR. SUN: Objection. Your Honor, my concern,39 again, is with the breadth of these questions. It's irrelevant. THE COURT: Let me see if I can narrow it down. Dr. Schwartz, have you ever determined any patient that you've treated or that you've tried to associate causation for purposes of litigation, have you ever determined causation of colon cancer with regard to asbestos? THE WITNESS: Yes. THE COURT: All right. Why don't you narrow it down. Q BY MR. NEVIN: And how do you go about doing that? MR. SUN: Objection. Foundation, Your Honor. THE COURT: I'm going to allow him to answer. Go ahead. THE WITNESS: You do that by identifying the exposures that that individual came in contact with. You do that by identifying the timing of the exposure that that individual came in contact with asbestos. You do that by considering other risk factors like family history, ulcerative colitis, dietary changes and polyposis, history of polyposis. And you also do that by being certain that the diagnosis of colon cancer is made by a pathologist who is looking at tissue that is relevant and has made the diagnosis conclusively of colon cancer. QO BY MR. NEVIN: And so, for example, in the40 litigation context, when you are given of a patient, an individual with colon cancer, do you always determine that they have asbestos-caused colon cancer? A No. Q Okay. So if you had a hypothetical person who did not have a sufficient history of exposure and had no asbestosis marker and had a family history of polyposis, would you opine that that person had an asbestos-caused colon cancer? A No. Q So in looking at an individual, one of the things you do, then, is determine if that person has any other risk factors? Yes, that's correct. A Q And did you do that in this case? A Yes. Q Okay. And another thing you do in looking at an individual is you determine whether or not they have radiological and/or pathological marker of exposure in that they have asbestosis, either radiologically or pathologically, correct? A Or that they have a sufficient history of exposure. Q Okay. Did you do all three of those things in this case? A yes. Q Okay. And you did a report in this case, correct?41 A Yes, I did. Q Let me mark it as 112. Oh, you have a right there. A Yes, I do. (Exhibit 112 was marked for identification.) Q BY MR. NEVIN: Dr. Schwartz, what I've marked as Exhibit 112, is this the report -- A Yes, it is. Q -- in this case? Give us an overview of the reports that you looked at in this case. A Well, I reviewed a number of previous medical reports: The pathology reports; the radiology reports; medical records from Dr. Richard Bordon, Dr. Daniel Powers, Dr. William Sawlyer, medical records from the family practice specialists, medical records from Havasu Regional Medical Center; medical records from the Midwest Internal Medicine Clinic; and medical records from Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, as well as answers to standard asbestos case interrogatories. Q So why did you look at the pathology report in Mrs. Nicholson's case? A Because I wanted to see what the opinion of the pathologist was -- the pathologists were in this42 particular case in relation to the initial b