The Texas Court of Appeals ruled on November 5 that Tyler MD Holdings LLC acted with gross negligence in the death of former worker Louie Scudder, though the judges trimmed the jury's $325,000 exemplary damages award to $200,000. The court rejected the company's argument that sub-standard exposure levels absolved them of liability, instead allowing the family to return to court to pursue further claims against the refinery's successor-in-interest.
Scudder spent 38 years at the La Gloria refinery in Tyler, working between 1958 and 1998. He diagnosed with mesothelioma in November 2019 and died on June 25, 2022, at age 83. His son, Carl Christian Scudder, filed the lawsuit, alleging that decades of inhaling asbestos fibers from pipe insulation and dry cement powder directly caused his father's fatal illness.
The evidence presented to the court painted a picture of systemic safety failures during Scudder's tenure. As a maintenance helper, he drilled into insulated pipes and mixed insulating cement for three hours a week without recalls of receiving masks, respirators, or warning signs before 1980. Industrial hygiene expert Kenneth Garza calculated that Scudder's exposure between 1972 and 1980 represented a 21-fold increase in mesothelioma risk according to some studies, despite the company's claim that levels were below workplace safety limits.
The company argued that a 1979 document indicated air monitoring, but the record contained no actual measurement data to prove it. The court noted that by 1966, the National Safety Council was already specifically concerned about mesothelioma links to asbestos, and workplace safety rules were introduced in 1972. Scudder only received formal asbestos removal training in 1989—more than two decades after he began his work with hazardous materials.
The family's medical expert, Dr. Edwin Holstein, testified that the refinery exposure was a substantial factor in Scudder's death and cited no other cause. With the appellate court's decision, the legal dispute is not over; the Scudders will now proceed to a new trial phase to determine the remaining compensatory damages and potential additional liabilities for Tyler MD Holdings.