Houston Law Firm Accused of Sandbagging Federal Court

Yesterday the Wall Street Journal ran an editorial discussing the decision by Judge Janis Graham Jack of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to declined to exercise jurisdition over approximately 10,000 silicosis cases brought as class action lawsuits. After conducting an extensive review of the medical diagnosis of the plaintiff class, Judge Jack concluded that the majority of the diagnosis had been manufactured by the plaintiffs' bar and a handful of doctors for purposes of litigation. Whether her decision to decline subject matter jurisdiciton over the cases and remand them to Mississippi state court will be the end of the line for these cases remains a matter of some speculation (see ABA article). Among the sanctions imposed by Judge Jack was the requirement that the law firm of O'Quinn, Laminack & Pirtle pay $8,250 in legal fees accrued by the defendants. (Note, corrected 7/19/05 per WSJ correction).