Mobil Oil Corporation v. Ellender
Supreme Court of Texas
968 S.W.2d 917 (1998)
Eli Ellender worked for 14 years as an independent contractor exposed to benzene at a plant owned by Mobil Oil Corporation (defendant) and died of leukemia caused by that exposure. His widow, Anna Mae Ellender (plaintiff), sued on behalf of his estate, alleging Mobil was grossly negligent in failing to warn Eli about benzene's risks and failing to protect him from them. Evidence at trial showed Mobil knew benzene exposure at Eli's levels was dangerous, yet maintained an unwritten policy of not monitoring contract workers' benzene exposure, let Eli and others work around benzene without gloves, and even supplied benzene for workers to wash their hands. The jury found Mobil grossly negligent and awarded over $622,000 in compensatory damages and $6 million in punitive damages; the court of appeals affirmed, and Mobil sought review.
Whether a company may be held liable for compensatory and punitive damages for gross negligence when its conduct objectively involved an extreme degree of risk and the company acted recklessly with actual, subjective awareness of that risk.