In December 1994, plaintiff Virginia Pierce, 39, a retired store clerk, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which is cancer of the lymph tissue. In 2004, plaintiffs Jacqueline Smith, 53, a supervisor for the county of Los Angeles Welfare Benefits Department, and Mark Rametta, 49, a former real estate agent, were also diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Pierce, Smith and Rametta, who were all Los Angeles county residents, each underwent blood tests in 2010, which allegedly revealed “elevated” levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in their bodies, as compared with a national database of blood test results. PCBs are a group of 209 chemical compounds that were widely used as non-flammable, insulating fluids in electrical transformers and capacitors, as well as were used in a variety of other products, such as paints and carbonless copy paper, before the manufacturing of PCBs ceased in 1977. Pierce, Smith and Rametta claimed they developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma as a result of their exposure to PCB products designed, manufactured and distributed by a company formerly known as Monsanto Co. (now known as Pharmacia Corp.) and its affiliates. Pierce, Smith and Rametta separately sued Monsanto Co., Pfizer Inc., Pharmacia Corp., Solutia Inc., and Southern California Gas Co. Pierce, Smith and Rametta alleged that the four Monsanto defendants (Pharmacia Corp., Monsanto Co., Solutia Inc., and Pfizer Inc.) negligently designed and/or manufactured PCB products that caused PCBs to get into the environment, food chain, and natural gas pipelines in their area. They also alleged that Solutia, which was formed in 1997 out of Monsanto’s chemical division, assumed the debt and liabilities of Monsanto’s chemical products. They further alleged that SoCal Gas, which connected its pipeline with that of Transwestern Pipeline Co., had a PCB-contaminated compressor station in New Mexico and knowingly contaminated its own pipeline with PCBs through a technique called “oil fogging” in order to reduce rusting and corrosion. The separate actions were ultimately consolidated, and this was the first case to be tried out of 26 cases filed in Los Angeles and St. Louis in which the plaintiffs (699 in total) claimed to have developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma from exposure to PCBs. Prior to trial, Pierce, Smith and Rametta dismissed their claims against SoCal Gas. It was determined that Solutia was a divestiture of Monsanto, that Monsanto merged with Pharmacia Corp. in 2000, and that Pfizer also merged with Pharmacia Corp. in 2003. Thus, Pierce, Smith and Rametta dismissed their claims against Monsanto, Pfizer and Solutia, and only pursued claims against Pharmacia for negligence and design defect. At trial, counsel for Pierce, Smith and Rametta noted that from 1935 to 1977, the company formally known as Monsanto produced and sold more than 99 percent of the PCBs that were manufactured and sold in the United States. The chemicals were used both as insulating fluid for electrical equipment, and were used in inks, paints, de-dusting agents, pesticides, plasticizers, hydraulic fluids, lubricants, adhesives and carbonless copy paper. In 1977, Congress banned PCBs, as they are considered “persistent organic pollutants” because they do not easily break down in the environment and are not easily excreted by humans or animals. Today most people, animals, water and soil are contaminated with PCBs, and they are also found in many foods, including fish, beef, poultry, fruits and vegetables. The chemical is lipophilic, in that it is stored in fat deposits in the bodies of those exposed. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that Pierce, Smith and Rametta were exposed to high levels of PCBs in the environment, food chain, and natural gas pipelines located near where they lived, worked and recreated, and that they were exposed to PCBs in the same way as everyone in the general population gets exposed. Counsel noted that because PCBs are a ubiquitous environmental contaminant, they are found throughout the environment, including in food, and everyone in the United States has measurable levels of PCBs in their bodies. However, plaintiffs’ counsel contended that the PCB levels measured in the blood of Pierce, Smith and Rametta were elevated relative to other persons their age in the United States and that a large group of published scientific studies have shown that such elevated blood levels of PCBs substantially contribute to the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Counsel asserted that to this day, PCBs from Pharmacia (formally Monsanto) continue to contaminate indoor and outdoor air, water, soil and sediment throughout southern California. Thus, plaintiffs’ counsel contended that though the former Monsanto company had knowledge of the harmful effects of PCBs for decades, it continued to produce and market the chemical. Counsel also contended that Pharmacia was negligent for not warning its customers and users of PCBs to take precautions to prevent the release of PCBs into the environment even though it knew that PCBs were virtually indestructible and would not biodegrade. Pharmacia’s counsel contended that Pharmacia exceeded the standard of care among chemical manufacturers at the time by testing PCBs for toxicity and providing accurate information to customers about the known health effects of PCBs. Counsel also contended that the minute levels of PCBs detected in the plaintiffs’ blood were consistent with background levels found in the general population. Pharmacia’s counsel further contended that PCBs are not a cause of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in humans and that the plaintiffs’ non-Hodgkin lymphoma was idiopathic, meaning of unknown cause, as is true for the vast majority of non-Hodgkin lymphoma cases., Pierce was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in December 1994. Smith was later diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in December 2004 and Rametta was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma sometime in 2004. Pierce, Smith and Rametta each ultimately underwent a 2010 blood test, which revealed that they had elevated levels of PCBs in his body. All three of them subsequently underwent chemotherapy for their cancer. Pierce, currently 59, and Smith, currently 63, are now in remission. However, Rametta, currently 59, continues to suffer from non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that Pierce, Smith and Rametta each have elevated levels of PCBs in their blood, as shown by laboratory tests, and that several published scientific studies have shown that elevated PCB blood levels are linked specifically with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, the same type of cancer that all three of them have. Thus, Pierce, Smith and Rametta each sought recovery of $3 million to $5 million in compensatory damages for their pain, suffering, and mental anguish that they experienced as a result of their cancer. They also sought recovery for the costs of their subsequent treatment, and Pierce and Smith sought recovery of damages for their ongoing fear that the cancer will re-emerge. In addition, Pierce, Smith and Rametta sought recovery of punitive damages in the amount of four times the compensatory damages awarded to each of them.