Is that an actual dismissal, or yet another 'fake'?

Taser is working their way through the backlog of taser-associated death lawsuits. Only a few days ago they were dismissed from [or settled with?] the lawsuit Wells, et al. [LINK]

The Wells case is probably (?) related to taser-associated death #291 at The List of the Dead [LINK]


Today, Taser proudly announced that they've been dismissed from [or settled with?] Wilson et al. [LINK]


Wells, Wilson - I guess that they're starting at the back of the alphabet.


...Wilson, et al. v. Taser, et al. which was filed in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, Charleston Division... [ibid]


Thing is - honestly, right now - I don't know which of the FIVE Wilson taser-associated deaths listed at at The List of The Dead [LINK] that they're referring to. Look for South Carolina in this Wilson-only extract from The List:

#114 - May 6, 2005: Stanley Wilson, 44, Miami, Florida
#208 - August 4, 2006: Ryan Michael Wilson, 22, Lafayette, Colorado
#345 - May 6, 2008: James S. Wilson, 22, Alton, Missouri
#359 - July 14, 2008: Marion Wilson Jr., 52, Houston, Texas
#373 - September 11, 2008: Roney Wilson, 46, Hillsborough, Florida


Yeah, listen for the sound of the penny dropping as some people read that Wilson-only extract from The List of The Dead.

To wit - taser-associated deaths have become so numerous that we now have FIVE people with the surname Wilson that have died in a taser-associated death incident within the past four years. Perhaps this cold hard fact (the number of Wilsons on The List) will clarify a few muddle thoughts about the magnitude of The Problem.


Now why exactly would plaintiffs decide to settle, or voluntarily agree to dismiss, Taser from the lawsuit? Were they overcome by the sheer logic of Taser's legal position? Perhaps.

Or are either of these cases simply out-of-court financial settlements by another name? Given Taser's reported track record (*) of exactly this sort of misdirection, we cannot be certain until further details are provided.

(* See [LINK] and [LINK] for previous posts regarding the subtle misdirection of calling what are actually out-of-court settlements by the misleading term dismissal. )

If anyone can provide links to further information about Wells and Wilson, and the true reason for these so-called dismissals, I would happily accept it.


Five Wilsons !!!!

PS: I'll try to figure out which of these Wilsons is Wilson et al.


UPDATE:
(7 March 2009)

It's none of the above five Wilsons.

The Post and Courier (Saturday, March 7, 2009)

Kip Darrell Black, a mentally impaired man, died in October 2006 after police used up to 10 jolts from their taser stun weapons to subdue him. ... Charleston attorney J. David Murrell, who represents Black's wife, Rhonda Wilson, said the suit was voluntarily withdrawn so she could work with the victim's mother who, unknown to her, filed her own complaint against police. [LINK]

#224 - October 1, 2006: Kip Darrell Black, 38, North Charleston, South Carolina



Five - it's still a lot of Wilsons...