Whether Plants Or People – Texas Toxic Tort Causation Clarified

Houston, Texas (March 28, 2023) – The Supreme Court of Texas recently addressed the proof necessary to show causation in toxic tort cases and clarified that regardless of who or what is affected, the evidence remains the same. In Helena Chemical Company v. Cox, No. 20-0881, 2023 Tex. LEXIS 208, 66 Tex. Sup. J. 389 (Tex. 2023), cotton farmers in Coke, Sterling, and Mitchell Counties brought suit alleging that two planes dusted with the aerial herbicide – Sendero – in July 2015, which spread across their fields and damaged their crops.

Helena Chemical Company moved for summary judgment on the plaintiffs lack of causation evidence. The plaintiffs rebutted the claim of no evidence with five experts who addressed: (1) herbicide drift; (2) proper techniques for the aerial application of herbicides; and (3) the long-term effects of Sendero on plants. Helena sought to strike the experts based on the lack of reliability in their opinions. The trial court granted in favor