IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA

WESTERN DISTRICT

RICHARD THOMAS WALSH, 

EXECUTOR OF THE ESTATE OF 

THOMAS J. WALSH, DECEASED

v.

BASF CORPORATION; BAYER 

CORPORATION D/B/A BAYER 

CROPSCIENCE, L.P., AND BAYER 

CROPSCIENCE HOLDING, INC., 

AND/OR BAYER CROPSCIENCE, L.P. 

AND BAYER CROPSCIENCE HOLDING, 

INC., IN THEIR OWN RIGHT; BIOSAFE 

SYSTEMS, L.L.C.; CHEMTURA 

CORPORATION; CLEARY CHEMICAL 

CORP.; DOW AGROSCIENCES, L.L.C.; 

E.H. GRIFFITH, INC.; E.I. DU PONT DE 

NEMOURS AND CO., INC.; G.B. 

BIOSCIENCES CORPORATION; JOHN 

DEERE LANDSCAPING, INC., 

SUCCESSOR TO LESCO, INC.; 

MONSANTO COMPANY; NUFARM 

AMERICAS, INC.; REGAL CHEMICAL 

CO.; SCOTTS-SIERRA CROP 

PROTECTION CO.; AND SYNGENTA 

CROP PROTECTION, INC.

PETITION OF: DOW AGROSCIENCES, 

LLC, BAYER CROPSCIENCE, LP, 

BAYER CORPORATION, AND BAYER 

CROPSCIENCE HOLDING, INC.

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No. 359 WAL 2018

Petition for Allowance of Appeal from 

the Order of the Superior Court

RICHARD THOMAS WALSH, 

EXECUTOR OF THE ESTATE OF 

THOMAS J. WALSH, DECEASED

v.

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No. 360 WAL 2018

Petition for Allowance of Appeal from 

the Order of the Superior Court
[359 - 363 WAL 2018] - 2

BASF CORPORATION; BAYER 

CORPORATION D/B/A BAYER 

CROPSCIENCE, L.P., AND BAYER 

CROPSCIENCE HOLDING, INC., 

AND/OR BAYER CROPSCIENCE, L.P. 

AND BAYER CROPSCIENCE HOLDING, 

INC., IN THEIR OWN RIGHT; BIOSAFE 

SYSTEMS, L.L.C.; CHEMTURA 

CORPORATION; CLEARY CHEMICAL 

CORP.; DOW AGROSCIENCES, L.L.C.; 

E.H. GRIFFITH, INC.; E.I. DU PONT DE 

NEMOURS AND CO., INC.; G.B. 

BIOSCIENCES CORPORATION; JOHN 

DEERE LANDSCAPING, INC., 

SUCCESSOR TO LESCO, INC.; 

MONSANTO COMPANY; NUFARM 

AMERICAS, INC.; REGAL CHEMICAL 

CO.; SCOTTS-SIERRA CROP 

PROTECTION CO.; AND SYNGENTA 

CROP PROTECTION, INC.

PETITION OF: JOHN DEERE 

LANDSCAPING, INC.

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RICHARD THOMAS WALSH, 

EXECUTOR OF THE ESTATE OF 

THOMAS J. WALSH, DECEASED

v.

BASF CORPORATION; BAYER 

CORPORATION D/B/A BAYER 

CROPSCIENCE, L.P., AND BAYER 

CROPSCIENCE HOLDING, INC., 

AND/OR BAYER CROPSCIENCE, L.P. 

AND BAYER CROPSCIENCE HOLDING, 

INC., IN THEIR OWN RIGHT; BIOSAFE 

SYSTEMS, L.L.C.; CHEMTURA 

CORPORATION; CLEARY CHEMICAL 

CORP.; DOW AGROSCIENCES, L.L.C.; 

E.H. GRIFFITH, INC.; E.I. DU PONT DE 

NEMOURS AND CO., INC.; G.B. 

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No. 361 WAL 2018

Petition for Allowance of Appeal from 

the Order of the Superior Court
[359 - 363 WAL 2018] - 3

BIOSCIENCES CORPORATION; JOHN 

DEERE LANDSCAPING, INC., 

SUCCESSOR TO LESCO, INC.; 

MONSANTO COMPANY; NUFARM 

AMERICAS, INC.; REGAL CHEMICAL 

CO.; SCOTTS-SIERRA CROP 

PROTECTION CO.; AND SYNGENTA 

CROP PROTECTION, INC.

PETITION OF: SYNGENTA CROP 

PROTECTION, INC.

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RICHARD THOMAS WALSH, 

EXECUTOR OF THE ESTATE OF 

THOMAS J. WALSH, DECEASED

v.

BASF CORPORATION; BAYER 

CORPORATION D/B/A BAYER 

CROPSCIENCE, L.P., AND BAYER 

CROPSCIENCE HOLDING, INC., 

AND/OR BAYER CROPSCIENCE, L.P. 

AND BAYER CROPSCIENCE HOLDING, 

INC., IN THEIR OWN RIGHT; BIOSAFE 

SYSTEMS, L.L.C.; CHEMTURA 

CORPORATION; CLEARY CHEMICAL 

CORP.; DOW AGROSCIENCES, L.L.C.; 

E.H. GRIFFITH, INC.; E.I. DU PONT DE 

NEMOURS AND CO., INC.; G.B. 

BIOSCIENCES CORPORATION; JOHN 

DEERE LANDSCAPING, INC., 

SUCCESSOR TO LESCO, INC.; 

MONSANTO COMPANY; NUFARM 

AMERICAS, INC.; REGAL CHEMICAL 

CO.; SCOTTS-SIERRA CROP 

PROTECTION CO.; AND SYNGENTA 

CROP PROTECTION, INC.

PETITION OF: MONSANTO COMPANY

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No. 362 WAL 2018

Petition for Allowance of Appeal from 

the Order of the Superior Court
[359 - 363 WAL 2018] - 4

RICHARD THOMAS WALSH, 

EXECUTOR OF THE ESTATE OF 

THOMAS J. WALSH, DECEASED

v.

BASF CORPORATION; BAYER 

CORPORATION D/B/A BAYER 

CROPSCIENCE, L.P., AND BAYER 

CROPSCIENCE HOLDING, INC., 

AND/OR BAYER CROPSCIENCE, L.P. 

AND BAYER CROPSCIENCE HOLDING, 

INC., IN THEIR OWN RIGHT; BIOSAFE 

SYSTEMS, L.L.C.; CHEMTURA 

CORPORATION; CLEARY CHEMICAL 

CORP.; DOW AGROSCIENCES, L.L.C.; 

E.H. GRIFFITH, INC.; E.I. DU PONT DE 

NEMOURS AND CO., INC.; G.B. 

BIOSCIENCES CORPORATION; JOHN 

DEERE LANDSCAPING, INC., 

SUCCESSOR TO LESCO, INC.; 

MONSANTO COMPANY; NUFARM 

AMERICAS, INC.; REGAL CHEMICAL 

CO.; SCOTTS-SIERRA CROP 

PROTECTION CO.; AND SYNGENTA 

CROP PROTECTION, INC.

PETITION OF: BASF CORPORATION

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No. 363 WAL 2018

Petition for Allowance of Appeal from 

the Order of the Superior Court

ORDER

PER CURIAM

AND NOW, this 5th day of March, 2019, the Petitions for Allowance of Appeal are 

GRANTED. The Application to File Brief as Amici Curiae in Support of Petitioners, 

submitted by the Product Liability Advisory Council, Inc., Croplife America, and 
[359 - 363 WAL 2018] - 5

Pennsylvania Chamber of Business & Industry, is also granted. The issues, as stated by 

petitioners, are:

(1) Did the Superior Court majority commit reversible error in concluding that, 

when evaluating scientific evidence under the Frye standard, trial courts are 

not permitted to act as “gatekeepers” to ensure the relevance and reliability 

of scientific studies offered by experts to support their opinions by 

scrutinizing whether those studies actually support their opinions? 

(2) Did the Superior Court majority commit reversible error in concluding that 

trial courts may not review experts’ opinions extrapolating from a broad 

class of products and injuries to a specific product and injury, thereby 

eliminating plaintiff’s burden to show product-specific causation of plaintiff’s 

specific injury?

(3) Did the Superior Court majority commit reversible error in concluding that 

the trial court erred without explaining how it abused its discretion because 

of manifest unreasonableness, partiality, prejudice, bias, ill-will or such lack 

of support from the evidence or the record so as to be clearly erroneous?