Defendants in Mississippi Silica Cases Seek Order for Judge's Recusal

JACKSON, Miss. - Defendants in two silica cases filed in Mississippi have petitioned the state Supreme Court in an effort to force a trial court judge to recuse himself from hearing the cases.

In petitions filed recently in the Supreme Court of Mississippi, counsel for North Safety Products, Inc., Textron, Inc., and Saint-Gobain Abrasives, Inc. claim that Jones County Circuit Court Judge Billy Joe Landrum should be ordered to recuse himself from the silica matters because of an alleged bias against law firm of Brunini, Grantham, Grower & Hewes, which represents defendants in each case.

According to the petitions, Judge …