Special Commissioner Appointed to Oversee Discovery in W.Va. Silica Cases

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A Special Commissioner has been assigned to resolve discovery issues in a silica case pending in West Virginia after the court said it has no available time on its docket to decide the issues. Welsh v. U.S. Silica Company, et al., No. 04-C-2378 (W.Va. Cir. Ct., Kanawha Cty.).

In a May 2 order, Kanawha County Circuit Court Judge Louis H. Bloom assigned G. Nicholas Casey Jr. to oversee the expedition resolution of discovery issues contained in various motions after Bloom noted that they required immediate attention.

Casey, who is a partner at the law firm of Lewis, …