I've blogged about this issue before (here, here and here), but this Op/Ed from the Washington Examiner sums things up quite succinctly:
If they give awards for judicial integrity, a special one should go to U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack of Corpus Christi, Texas. Thanks to her painstaking 249-page order issued on June 30, the bell may have begun tolling for plaintiff lawyers who specialize in fraudulent mass torts.
In this instance it's an outrageous scam built around silicosis - an incurable and fatal lung disease caused by silica dust. Silica, a mineral found in 95 percent of the Earth's rocks, is used in everything from window panes to computer chips.
The danger comes when people breathe silica dust in jobs such as mining and sandblasting. The dangers are well-known. That's why sandblasters and miners wear masks and use water to suppress dust.
Consequently, silicosis has declined to the point of rarity. For instance, Mississippi - with nearly 2.9 million inhabitants - averages only 1.3 silicosis deaths a year.
Hold that figure in mind, because something unbelievable happened between 2002 and 2004: Lawyers filed silicosis claims on behalf of more than 20,000 plaintiffs in Mississippi alone. That's five times more than could be expected for the entire United States during the same time span - and the worst industrial disaster in recorded history.
Or was it?
Details here from the Washington Examiner.