Mississippi Valley Silica Co. v. Reeves

KITCHENS, Justice,

for the Court:

¶ 1. Robert Reeves, a career employee of Illinois Central Railroad, sued Mississippi Valley Silica, Inc. (Valley) for lung injuries that allegedly were caused by his inhalation of silica (a component of sand) while employed with Illinois Central. The case was dismissed without prejudice in 2006, and the present suit was filed against thirty-two named defendants in the Circuit Court of the Second Judicial District of Jones County in 2007. Robert Reeves died in 2010, before the litigation was concluded, and the case then was pursued by his wrongful death…