More than Half of Former Silica MDL 1553 Claims Dismissed

MACON, Miss. - A Mississippi judge has signed orders dismissing more than 4,000 silica claims that were once part of MDL 1553. Prince, et al. v. Pearl River Sand & Gravel Co. Inc., et al., No. 2002-430 (Miss. Cir. Ct., Noxubee Cty.).

The orders were entered Dec. 14 in Noxubee County Circuit Court, after plaintiffs' counsel moved to voluntarily dismiss the cases, which were initially filed by the law firm of Campbell, Cherry, Harrison, Davis & Dove in Jackson, Miss., and represent about 40 percent of the MDL claims.

The cases, which named approximately 130 defendants, had come under scrutiny …