Gary Elliston and Shayne Gardner Win Dallas County Case
On November 24, 2008, Gary Elliston and Shayne Gardner obtained a defense verdict in Dallas County in a case against ExxonMobil. Starting in the 1963, the 71 year-old plaintiff began working as an insulation contractor at a number of refineries, chemical plants and paper mills in the Houston, Texas area, including the ExxonMobil Baytown Refinery. In 2006, the plaintiff was diagnosed with mesothelioma. He and his wife brought suit against several companies, including Exxon Mobil Corporation. Plaintiff alleged his disease was caused by his work as an insulator at various job sites, including work involving tear out of asbestos insulation by ExxonMobil employees.
Mr. Elliston argued that it was the plaintiff's own work as an insulator that caused his disease. They further argued that it was not known that bystanders to insulators were at risk for developing mesothelioma in the 1960s. Plaintiff expert testified that there were no epidemiological studies that established bystanders to insulators were at risk for developing mesothelioma in the 1960s.