Attorneys Ben DuBose, Greg Lisemby, co-counsel Allen Hossley, and the Louie Scudder family, were honored to receive the John Howie Award at the October annual meeting of the Dallas Trial Lawyers Association (DTLA).
The John Howie Award
John Howie, a legendary Dallas trial attorney, was known for taking on fights for justice both big and small with integrity. In 2008, DTLA established the John Howie Award in his memory.
Each year, a DTLA member and his/her client is recognized with the John Howie Award for the courageous pursuit of justice in the face of adversity. The award criteria establishes that the pursuit of justice in the face of adversity need not have necessarily have resulted in a favorable outcome because the award honors the courageous pursuit of justice. Some fights just have to be fought, regardless of the probable or eventual outcome.
Award recipients are selected by a vote of the DTLA board of directors.
Scudder Jury Trial
In May 2024, a Dallas County jury reached a unanimous jury verdict in favor of the family of mesothelioma victim, Louie Scudder. Scudder worked at the LaGloria refinery in Tyler, Texas from 1958 to 1998. The evidence at trial revealed he was exposed to asbestos while his employer, LaGloria, now known as Tyler MD Holdings, LLC, failed for years to provide any asbestos safety measures.
Tyler MD maintained no operational documents and asserted that no living witnesses from Scudder’s exposure years remained to testify on behalf of the corporation.
Undeterred, DuBose, Lisemby and Hossley conducted discovery against multiple third parties and obtained evidence from a number of sources beyond the defendant including corporate records of Tyler MD’s parent company, Texas Eastern Transmission Company, archived at Rice University’s Fondren Library.
Ultimately, the Dallas County jury found by clear and convincing evidence that Tyler MD acted with gross negligence.
Appeal
Prior to trial, Scudder’s negligence claims were dismissed based on the exclusive remedy provision of Texas workers compensation – also known was the workers comp bar. However, the Scudders have appealed the ruling on an issue of first impression in Texas: whether a latent disease claimant’s negligence claims should be barred when the injury at the time of exposure was not covered by workers compensation.
Prior to 1971, Texas workers compensation provided benefits only for a specific list of injuries and diseases – which did not include mesothelioma. Scudder suffered 13 years of causative asbestos exposure before 1971.
“We are confident that Texas courts will find the exclusive remedy provision does not apply to asbestos cancer claimants with pre 1971 exposures,” says attorney Ben DuBose. “The Louisiana Supreme Court, under a nearly identical statute, has ruled in favor of cancer victims. We believe Texas will as well.”
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