Washington Adopts Market Share Liability for DES Producers—Martin v. Abbott Laboratories, 102 Wn. 2d 581, 689 P.2d 368 (1984)

In Martin v. Abbott Laboratories, the Washington Supreme Court adopted a narrow exception in DES cases to tort law's traditional requirement of causation. The court fashioned a liability-apportionment scheme based upon each defendant's contribution to the plaintiff's risk of harm: its "market share." The decision correctly refused to require joinder of a "substantial share" of the producers in the relevant market, and limited recovery to the percentage of the market actually joined. The court also decided to impose corporate successor liability on one drug manufacturer, drawing a dissent on the issue from three justices.