Special Master Recommends Severance of 4-Plaintiff Silica Trial Group

HAZLEHURST, Miss. - The special master assigned to oversee a multi-plaintiff Mississippi silica case scheduled for trial in August has recommended paring the number of trial plaintiffs in the case down to one after determining that each is likely to have a unique history of exposure. Johnson, et al. v. American Optical Corp., et al., No. 2002-0030 (Miss. Cir. Ct., Copiah Cty.).

In a Report and Recommendation issued June 10, Special Master X.M. Frascogna said that each of the four proposed trial plaintiffs will have his own individual work, exposure and medical histories. Therefore, Frascogna concluded, the plaintiffs' collective claims …