The Pennsylvania Superior Court has ruled that trial courts may bar defendants from introducing evidence about industry standards during products liability trials, in a decision that provides the first appellate guidance on that question since the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued its seminal decision in Tincher v. Omega Flex.

Although the Superior Court partially addressed questions about the admissibility of industry standards in the 2016 case Webb v. Volvo Cars of North America, the court’s unanimous three-judge panel ruling Thursday in Sullivan v. Werner squarely tackled the issue and ruled that courts can bar the evidence in the wake of Tincher.