PROVIDENCE – Today at noon, Superior Court Judge Michael A. Silverstein ruled that Sherwin-Williams Co. and other former makers of lead paint must pay the costs of cleaning up affected Rhode Island homes and public buildings, according to R.I. Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch. The judge also denied the paint companies’ request for a new trial.
Last February, a Rhode Island jury found that by selling lead paint, Sherwin-Williams, NL Industries and Millennium Holdings LLC had created a public-health threat. The verdict was the first to hold the industry liable for the harm caused by lead paint, which federal officials banned in 1978 because it has been linked to brain and nerve damage in children.
“A year ago this month, the jury found that the harm caused by lead paint was so great and so widespread that it constituted a legal nuisance,” Lynch said in a statement today. “Today’s final ruling is validation of our long fight to protect the public health and to ensure that our hardworking taxpayers no longer have to solve the problem themselves.
“More work lies before us … tackling the challenges inherent in remediation,” the attorney general continued, adding that he hoped “not one more child suffers because of any continued legal delays in this case."
In today’s 197-page decision, Silverstein did not specify how much the companies will have to pay, but said he will appoint a special master to help decide whether the companies must remove the paint or may just cover it up, Bloomberg News reports. Officials contend that as many as 240,000 homes in the state are affected, as well as schools and other public buildings.
“I’m very heartened by Judge Silverstein’s ruling to let the jury’s decision in our historic lead-paint case stand and to proceed to abate the lead,” U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), who as attorney general initiated the first state litigation against lead-paint manufacturers, said in a statement this afternoon. “This was a critical victory for our state and our kids, and I congratulate Attorney General Patrick Lynch and his legal team for their outstanding work.
“We have a significant task of abatement before us, and I hope the parties will move quickly to appoint a special master and begin that important process,” Whitehouse continued. “This decision is a turning point from litigation to remediation – from fighting to fixing – that is long overdue for the kids whose health is at stake.”
Shares in Sherwin-Williams, the nation’s largest paint maker, closed down $2.22 at $67.77, according to finance.Yahoo.com, while NL closed down 9 cents at $11.64 and Millenium owner Lyondell Chemical Co. closed up $1.10 at $33.04 per share. All had improved from earlier this afternoon, when Bloomberg News had said Sherwin-Williams was down $3.08 to $66.91 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading, NL was down 33 cents to $11.40, and Lyondell was up 90 cents to $32.84.
Spokesmen for Sherwin-Williams and NL Industries weren’t immediately available for comment, Bloomberg said.
