Court Issues Sua Sponte Order Dismissing Unimpaired Silica Cases

CLEVELAND - More than 500 silica cases have been administratively dismissed by a state court judge for failing to meet impairment criteria that would have allowed the claims to be placed on the court's trial docket. In re: All Silica Cases, No. 073958S (Ohio Comm. Pls., Cuyahoga Cty.).

In a sua sponte order entered March 16, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court Justice Francis E. Sweeney noted that the dismissals are the culmination of a case management system implemented by the court to 'fairly and efficiently prepare impaired silica cases for trial.'

The cases dismissed by the order do not currently …