Texas Supreme Court Stays District Court Silica Cases

AUSTIN, Texas - The Texas Supreme Court has stayed proceedings in nearly a dozen state court silica complaints that are the subject of a battle among three judges who all claim to have jurisdiction over the consolidated cases. In Re U.S. Silica Company and Amfels, Inc., No. 04-0270; In Re: Badger Mining Corporation, No. 04-0271; In Re Norton Company, et al., No. 04-0297; In Re Norton Company, Siebe North, Inc., and Textron, Inc., No. 04-0308; In Re Bacou-Dalloz Safety, Inc., No. 04-0309 (Texas Sup. Ct.).

The state's highest court ordered the stay on April 7, three weeks after the Thirteenth …