Fishman Haygood’s Products Liability Team Secures the First Daubert Victory in AFFF PFAS Litigation Before the Arizona Superior Court

The Hon. Frank W. Moskowitz of the Superior Court of Arizona – Maricopa County recently ruled that plaintiff’s occupational medicine expert Dr. Phillip Harber is qualified to render an opinion on causation in the case of Landon Young, et al. v. Chemguard Inc, et al. Fishman Haygood represents Mr. Young, a former firefighter with the Goodyear Fire Department in Arizona, who spent over a decade handling aqueous film-forming foams (AFFF), a fire suppressant used on flammable liquid fires. As a result of the exposure, Mr. Young developed testicular cancer. Earlier this year, defendant Tyco Fire Products, LP entered a motion to exclude Dr. Harber’s expert opinion on the matter, and oral arguments were heard May 8, 2025.

In its argument, Tyco challenged Dr. Harber’s qualifications and the reliability of his opinion under Rule 702 of the Arizona Rules of Evidence. The court disagreed, finding that Dr. Harber is not only qualified to render an opinion but also that his opinion reliably applies the principles and methods to the facts of the case. Click here to read Judge Moskowitz’s full ruling allowing Dr. Harber to testify.

Significantly, Judge Moskowitz’s order appears to be the first Daubert ruling on a causation expert in AFFF cases involving firefighters who developed testicular cancer.

Partner Jason Burge argued against the motion to exclude before the Superior Court. The Fishman Haygood team also includes attorneys Kerry Miller and Hogan Paschal. Lincoln Combs of Osteen MacLeod Combs PLC serves as co-counsel on the case.

Also pending before the court were the defendants’ motions for summary judgment. Oral arguments were held the same day, and Chemguard Inc.’s motion was granted. However, the court found genuine issues of material fact regarding the plaintiff’s exposure and causation such that it denied Tyco’s motion.

The case against Tyco will proceed to trial in 2026.

This is not the first time that Fishman Haygood has successfully argued Mr. Young’s products liability case before the courts. In February 2022, Fishman Haygood’s appellate section obtained a United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decision affirming Mr. Young’s right to proceed with his lawsuit in state court. Read more here.