Rick Thompson Prevails at Court of Appeals, Texas Supreme Court

Durham, Pittard & Spalding partner Rick Thompson secured a significant appellate outcome in an asbestos-exposure case.

On April 17, 2026, the Supreme Court of Texas denied a petition for review sought by defendant Howmet Aerospace, leaving in place a February 2024 decision from the Court of Appeals for the Fourteenth District in Houston that reversed the MDL court’s order granting summary judgment to Howmet.

The case arises from wrongful death and survival claims brought by Carolyn Burford’s family. According to the lawsuit, Ms. Burford died from asbestosis caused by her exposure to asbestos fibers carried home on her husband’s work clothes during his employment at an Alcoa aluminum smelter in Rockdale, Texas, from 1963 to 1993. This was Ms. Burford’s only known exposure to asbestos.

The asbestos MDL court granted summary judgment in favor of defendant Howmet Aerospace. On appeal, Rick secured reversal, with the Fourteenth Court of Appeals holding that the plaintiffs had presented sufficient evidence to create a genuine issue of fact on causation, dose, and whether asbestos exposure attributable to Alcoa was a substantial factor in causing Mrs. Burford’s illness and death.

The case is Howmet Aerospace, Inc., f/k/a Arconic, Inc., f/k/a Alcoa, Inc. v. Burford, et al., No. 24-0411. Durham, Pittard & Spalding partners Rick Thompson and Thad Spalding served as appellate counsel. Trial counsel included Richard Dodd and Tim Cappolino of Cappolino Dodd Krebs, and Valerie Farwell of Hendler Flores Law.