Miss. High Court Finds Wrongful Death Suit Against Silica Producers Untimely

JACKSON, Miss. - The Mississippi Supreme Court held in a 6-3 decision May 3 that a wrongful death action brought by family members five years after the decedent filed his own action for silica-related injuries is untimely. Empire Abrasive Equipment Corp., et al. v. Morgan, et al., No. 2010-1A-00247-SCT, 2010-1A-00250-SCT and 2010-1A-00255-SCT (Miss. Sup. Ct.).

The high court majority rejected the plaintiffs' argument that silica producers and other defendants had waived their statute-of-limitations defenses, including the three-year limitations period for wrongful death actions, finding that any delay in pursuing that defense was due to plaintiffs' delay in responding to discovery …