State Supreme Court Won't Review Reversal of Summary Judgment in Silica Case

MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin Supreme Court has declined to review a decision to allow a jury to determine whether a former foundry worker exercised due diligence in his pursuit of several respirator companies named in a lawsuit filed nearly 15 years after he was diagnosed with silicosis. Cocroft v. Badger Mining Corp., et al., No. 02-1197 (Wis. Sup. Ct.).

According to sources, the state high court on July 9 denied review of the appeals panel's recently published decision to reverse a trial court's award of summary judgment to the respirator defendants.

A trial court had previously awarded summary judgment …