Miss. High Court Allows Plaintiff to Add American Optical and Others to Silica Suit

JACKSON, Miss. - The Mississippi Supreme Court has affirmed a decision allowing a silica plaintiff to file an amended complaint against five new parties after a scheduled trial had been halted by his decision to settle with the original defendant silica producers. Lone Star Industries, Inc., et al. v. McGraw, No. 2010-1A-01005-SCT (Miss. Sup. Ct.).

A high court majority noted Feb. 2 that even though plaintiff Charles Larry McGraw had agreed to settle with the original defendants, he filed his motion to amend before the trial court dismissed those defendants with prejudice.

However, the court majority reversed the trial court's …