Dr. David E. Barnes, Plaintiff-Appellant/cross-Appellee v. The Kerr Corporation, Defendant-Appellee/cross-Appellant

OPINION

GILMAN, Circuit Judge.

This is a products liability case brought by David E. Barnes, a practicing dentist, against the Kerr Corporation, a provider of dental amalgams (commonly known as “silver fillings”) that contain mercury, copper, tin, and silver. Barnes claims that, during a 13-year period ending in June or July of 1999, he and his staff were exposed to toxic mercury vapors when removing old fillings and inserting new ones, and that Kerr’s amalgams are the major source of his alleged mercury poisoning.

In July of 1999, Barnes brought an action against Kerr for negligence, the…