FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Dallas, TX – On May 16th, 2024 a Dallas County jury reached a unanimous verdict in favor of the family of mesothelioma victim Louie Scudder, awarding punitive damages against Tyler MD Holdings LLC (formerly known as LaGloria Oil & Gas)
The verdict was reduced, pursuant to Texas law, upon Final Judgment to $325,000.00 plus post judgment interest on August 13, 2024. The judgment has not yet been satisified as the case is now on appeal to the 5th District Court of Appeals.
The verdict follows a trial in which the plaintiff’s legal team, led by Ben DuBose and Greg Lisemby of DuBose Law Firm, PLLC of Dallas and Allen Hossley of Hossley Embry, represented the Scudder family.
Louie Scudder worked at the LaGloria Oil and Gas Refinery in Tyler, Texas from 1958 until his retirement in 1998. Throughout most of his tenure, Mr. Scudder worked in the maintenance department, which involved assisting insulators, exposing him to harmful asbestos. Despite working with asbestos for decades, Mr. Scudder was not properly trained or warned about the risks of asbestos exposure until the late 1980s, when his employer briefly provided 12 hours of asbestos abatement training.
In November of 2019, Mr. Scudder was diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, a rare and aggressive cancer almost exclusively caused by asbestos exposure. Despite undergoing chemotherapy for six months, Mr. Scudder passed away in June of 2022.
The trial uncovered evidence that Mr. Scudder’s only known source of asbestos exposure was his time working at the LaGloria refinery, where the employer failed to provide adequate safety measures. Evidence established that during much of Scudder’s employment, the refinery had no air monitoring for asbestos, did not provide respiratory protection, and neglected to follow established safety practices. By the 1980s, when LaGloria finally began asbestos abatement, the facility initially relied on its own employees, including Mr. Scudder, to handle the dangerous materials.
Attorney Ben DuBose, who represented the Scudder family, commented on the case: “Despite state and federal asbestos safety regulations dating back to the 1950s, the evidence revealed LaGloria did not adequately protect its employees from asbestos exposure for years. LaGloria denied responsibility in this case despite Mr. Scudder working there for essentially his entire career. But we maintained faith in the American jury trial. Ultimately, a jury of 12 ordinary Texans has finally held LaGloria responsible.”
The jury found LaGloria, now known as Tyler MD Holdings LLC, liable for gross negligence, leading to a unanimous verdict in favor of the Scudder family. The Honorable Judge Maria Aceves of the 192nd Judicial District in Dallas County presided over the trial.
This trial serves as a reminder of the ongoing risks associated with asbestos exposure and the responsibility employers have in protecting their workers’ health and safety.
