Silica Defendant Wants Judge to Prohibit References to 'Silica Industry'

HAZLEHURST, Miss. - Defendants named to a silica lawsuit because of the allegedly defective respirators they manufactured have moved the court to prohibit the plaintiffs and their attorneys from using the term 'Silica Industry' in front of a jury. Underwood v. American Optical Corp., et al., No. 2002-0027 (Miss. Cir. Ct., Copiah Cty.).

In a motion filed Jan. 17 in Copiah County Circuit Court in Mississippi, respirator defendant Louis M. Gerson Co. said that pairing its company with a so-called 'silica industry' would cause the company improper and unfair prejudice, especially where punitive damages may be at issue.

'Phrases such …