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Once in homes, paint was out of makers’ control, Rhode Island high court decides
Wednesday,  July 2, 2008 3:23 AM
By Spencer Hunt

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
The Rhode Island Supreme Court might have put an end to a Columbus lawsuit intended to hold paint manufacturers financially responsible for cleaning up thousands of homes contaminated with lead paint.

The court’s unanimous decision yesterday reversed a February 2006 jury decision that found paint companies, including Cleveland-based Sherwin-Williams, liable for lead risks in homes.

Rhode Island wanted the paint companies to pay as much as $2.4 billion to remove lead paint hazards from 240,000 homes.

The case inspired a wave of similar suits, including cases filed by the city of Columbus and the state of Ohio. A number of Ohio cities dropped their cases earlier.

“Most everybody pinned their hopes on how Rhode Island moved,” said Columbus City Attorney Richard C. Pfeiffer Jr. “I think it’s fair to say, with Rhode Island’s decision, we’ll have to seriously re-evaluate this case and see if it should continue.”

The city estimates that cleaning up 150,000 lead- contaminated homes could cost $1.7 billion.

“Obviously, this ruling in Rhode Island does not bode well for our legal strategy,” said Dan Williamson, spokesman for Mayor Michael B. Coleman.

Jim Gravelle, a spokesman for the Ohio attorney general’s office, said the state isn’t going to drop its suit.

“This in no way restricts Ohio’s right to hold lead-paint companies liable for the extreme harm that they have caused Ohio citizens, under ‘public nuisance’ or any other causes of action,” he said.

The state’s and city’s suits were patterned on the Rhode Island case, which declared lead paint a public nuisance, an act that interferes with a commonly held public right.

Rhode Island justices said the state’s public-nuisance law cannot cover lead paint that has been in homes for decades. Lead, which was banned in paint in 1978, can cause learning disabilities and other health problems in children who consume lead-paint chips or dust.

The ruling essentially says that once the paint was in homes, it was out of the manufacturers’ control. As such, they weren’t liable when the paint became a threat to children.

The decision follows paint-industry arguments and similar state supreme court decisions in New Jersey and Missouri.

Charles H. Moellenberg Jr., an attorney for Sherwin- Williams, said the Rhode Island decision will help his efforts to win dismissal of Ohio’s and Columbus’ suits, both of which were filed in Franklin County Common Pleas Court.

shunt@dispatch.com