In 2012, plaintiffs’ decedent Donald Vanni, 77, co-owner of a bowling alley, was diagnosed with pericardial mesothelioma, a rare form of cancer that affects the protective lining of the heart. He operated the family business of running a bowling alley, Arcata Bowl, with his brother from 1957 to 1986. Vanni and his brother traded off opening and closing shifts, and they split the duties. Vanni was responsible for drilling custom-fit finger holes into bowling balls that Arcata Bowl sold. One of the bowling ball brands that Arcata Bowl sold was Ebonite, which added asbestos to the core of the plastic (polyester) balls it manufactured from 1967 to 1978. Vanni died in 2013 from complications related to pericardial mesothelioma, which allegedly stemmed from exposure to asbestos. The decedent’s wife, Barbara Vanni, and two adult sons, Michael Vanni and Mark Vanni, sued the manufacturers of the subject bowling balls, Ebonite Corp. and Ebonite International Inc., and several other companies that were believed to have distributed, manufactured and/or sold asbestos-containing products to which the decedent was allegedly exposed. The lawsuit was amended to include claims against MIG LLC and a company that supplied asbestos-laden brake lining dust to Ebonite for use in its bowling balls, Honeywell International Inc. The Vanni family alleged that the defendants negligently failed to provide warnings that disclosed the hazards of asbestos. The Vanni family’s complaint was coordinated with hundreds of other cases that were pending in different counties that shared common questions of fact or law regarding direct and indirect exposure, and involved many of the same defendants. The cases were joined in one court, the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Many of those cases were put on hold while awaiting a decision regarding an appellate case involving indirect exposure. The Ebonite entities, MIG LLC and several other defendants named in the Vanni family’s lawsuit were either dismissed or settled out of the case, and the Vanni family’s complaint ultimately proceeded to trial against Honeywell only. Plaintiffs’ counsel contended that Honeywell supplied Ebonite with brake lining dust containing chrysotile asbestos from Honeywell’s brake manufacturing plant in Troy, N.Y., for use in Ebonite’s bowling balls from 1967 to at least 1972. Counsel argued that the decedent’s pericardial mesothelioma was caused by his exposure to the chrysotile asbestos while drilling holes in the Ebonite bowling balls and that Honeywell failed to warn of the risks of asbestos exposure. Honeywell’s counsel argued that there was no evidence that Honeywell’s product at issue could, or did, cause pericardial mesothelioma, generally or in the decedent. Moreover, counsel argued that there was no scientific evidence that exposure to brake dust containing chrysotile asbestos causes or increases the risk of developing pericardial mesothelioma., Donald Vanni was diagnosed with pericardial mesothelioma in 2012. He underwent chemotherapy and had fluid drained from around his heart and lungs. However, he died from complications related to his disease in 2013, at the age of 78. He was survived by his wife of 55 years, Barbara Vanni, and his two adult sons, Michael Vanni and Mark Vanni. The Vanni family sought recovery of wrongful death damages for the loss of Donald Vanni. Honeywell’s counsel argued that the decedent’s pericardial mesothelioma was not caused by exposure to chrysotile asbestos in bowling balls and was, instead, a spontaneous mesothelioma.