Insurers Cite Mississippi Valley Silica's 1997 Bankruptcy in Removing Sandblasters' Suits to Federal Court

JACKSON, Miss – St. Paul, Travelers and other insurers named in several recent silica injury cases in Mississippi have cited the 1997 bankruptcy of one silica supplier co-defendant in removing the cases to federal court.

The removal notices came despite assertions in each of the complaints that a final bankruptcy decree in Sept. 1998 in defendant Mississippi Valley Silica Co.'s bankruptcy proceeding allows plaintiffs to pursue claims directly against potential insurers. Each plaintiffs also affirmed that complete diversity does not exist and that no federal statutes are implicated.

The insurers noted in their removal notice that they have moved to …