'Airgas' Silicosis Litigation Consolidated Before Single Judge

PRYOR, Okla. - Orders have been entered in two dozen silica cases filed recently in Oklahoma, consolidating the cases before a single judge until they are ready for trial. Clark v. Airgas Safety, et al., No. CJ-2007-31 (Okla. Dist. Ct., Mayes Cty.).

The orders were entered Nov. 1 in the Mayes County District Court, after defendants claimed that 26 silicosis cases filed in January shared common questions of law and fact, and that transferring them to a single judge would avoid expense and delay.

At the conclusion of an Aug. 22 hearing on the defendants' motion to consolidate, the three …