Plaintiffs, Pulmosan Spar over Access to Insurance Representatives

HOUSTON - A dispute involving the Texas MDL court's jurisdiction over defendant Pulmosan Safety Equipment Corp has reached a new phase, with parties disagreeing recently over whether certain employees of Pulmosan's insurers may be deposed in the litigation. In re: Texas State Silica Products Liability Litigation, Master File No. 2004-70000 (Texas Dist. Ct., Harris Cty.).

The row surfaced in letters exchanged earlier this month between Pulmosan's counsel and the silica MDL Plaintiffs' Steering Committee, which wants to depose seven individuals they say have knowledge of relevant facts surrounding insurance agreements Pulmosan entered into prior to its dissolution in the mid-1980s.