Congratulations to Rick Thompson, Valerie Farwell, and trial counsel, Richard Dodd, who convinced Houston’s 14th Court of Appeals to reverse an asbestos MDL summary judgment ruling on causation. The Court of Appeals found there to be a fact issue on direct causation, precluding summary judgment, where there were no other “plausible sources” of asbestos exposure, explaining:
“If reliable expert testimony shows that only exposure to asbestos can cause asbestosis and if Alcoa was the source of all the asbestos to which Carolyn was exposed, then the evidence directly proves that asbestos from Alcoa was a substantial factor in causing Carolyn’s asbestosis. In this situation, whatever the dose or amount of asbestos to which Carolyn was exposed, that dose or amount must have been sufficient to cause asbestosis because only asbestos exposure causes this disease and Alcoa was the source of all the asbestos to which Carolyn was exposed. When proving substantial-factor causation through direct, scientifically reliable proof, it is not necessary to show that the asbestos from Alcoa more than doubled Carolyn’s risk of suffering from asbestosis.”
The case is Burford v. Howmet Aerospace, Inc., No. 14-22-00417-CV, — S.W.3d —, 2024 WL 790285 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] Feb. 27, 2024). You can read the opinion here, and you can read articles about the case here (Law360.com) and here (Texas Lawyer).