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MO Lead Paint Lawsuit
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| Copyright: | U.S. Newswire Corp. | | Source: | U.S. Newswire | | Wordcount: | 434 |
Contact: Mike Tetuan of Prism Public Affairs, +1-202-207-3638, for Millennium Holdings, LLC, NL Industries, Inc. and The Sherwin-Williams Company
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., June 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Supreme Court of Missouri today rejected a public nuisance lawsuit filed by the City of St. Louis against former manufacturers of lead pigment or paint. The Court's decision means that the public nuisance theory has now been rejected in the only two states in which such cases have been fully adjudicated.
In its decision, the Supreme Court held that the product identification requirement laid out in a 1984 Missouri Supreme Court decision "applies with equal force to public nuisance cases brought by government entities for monetary damages accrued as an alleged result of the public nuisance."
The Court held that it was not sufficient for the City to show that the companies marketed and sold lead pigment or paint in the past. The City would also have to identify the defendant that made or sold the product at properties abated by the City.
In the only other public nuisance case to be fully adjudicated, courts in Illinois in 2005 rejected a public nuisance claim by the City of Chicago.
"The defendants have long argued that this distortion of nuisance law --in which you don't have to identify the manufacturer that made the product --is inconsistent with fundamental principles of our legal system," said Bonnie J. Campbell, former Attorney General of Iowa and spokesperson for the defendants. "Today's ruling is a sound, well-reasoned decision that adds the weight of the Supreme Court of Missouri to other decisions rejecting the misapplication of public nuisance law."
In its ruling, the Supreme Court held that the trial court did not err in entering summary judgment against the city in the case.
"The City of St. Louis admitted that it cannot identify a single manufacturer or brand name of any lead paint or lead pigment present in any of the properties it claims to have spent money to abate," Campbell said. "Companies that long ago made lead pigment used in paint should not be held liable for risks today from poorly maintained lead paint."
Missouri has now joined Illinois in rejecting the public nuisance claims against former manufacturers of lead pigment or their alleged successors. An Illinois appeals court on Jan. 14, 2005 upheld a lower court's dismissal of a public nuisance lawsuit brought by the City of Chicago.
For more information on this litigation, visit a href" http://www.leadlawsuits.com">http://www.leadlawsuits.com /a>
Contact: Prism Public Affairs
Mike Tetuan - 202-207-3638 SOURCE Millennium Holdings, LLC; NL Industries, Inc.; The Sherwin-Williams Company
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