Order Reduces Plaintiff Count in Silica Case from 2,780 to 10

LAUREL, Miss. - A Mississippi silica case that once contained nearly 3,000 plaintiffs has been reduced to 10, after a state court judge recently dismissed the remaining plaintiffs. Hall, et al. v. Dependable Abrasives, et al., No. 2002-290-CV9 (Miss. Cir. Ct., Jones Cty.).

In three separate orders entered Dec. 5, Jones County Circuit Court Judge Billy Joe Landrum dismissed all but 10 of the plaintiffs, citing decisions related to venue and joinder that have been released in recent months by the Mississippi Supreme Court.

Judge Landrum's order notes that all plaintiffs in the case, which asserted claims on behalf …