The Rhode Island Supreme Court today tossed out a jury verdict which the state had secured against lead paint manufacturers in a landmark lawsuit.
In a unanimous 4-0 decision the court reversed a Superior Court ruling upholding the verdict against NL Industries, Millennium Holdings and Sherwin Williams that could have required them to take part in a housing paint cleanup program estimated to cost $2.4 billion or more.
The state had claimed that the lead paint manufacturers created a public nuisance that injured children by exposing them to a toxic pigment. Until today it was the nation's only successful lawsuit against paint makers based on use of public nuisance laws.
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