Rhode Island
“Did you eat a lot of paint chips as a kid?” is an old joke because it’s an old issue. Lead paint was used in many schoolhouses and homes until it was banned in 1978, when the paint was found to have a negative effect on the small children who consumed the paint chips. Lead poisoning causes severe health problems, such as brain damage and behavioral disorders. Now the companies involved in the Lead Industries Association (Sherwin-Williams Co., Millennium Holdings LLC, NL Industries Inc. and Atlantic Richfield Co.) are being tried in Rhode Island state’s lawsuit against former manufacturers of lead paint (American Cyanamid Co. was also being tried, until it was exempted from the case last Thursday).
There are nearly 30 lawyers on each side of this case and a jury of about 140 members, which is being slowly whittled down to a small, impartial jury. The companies’ lawyers are arguing that the blame should rest on landlords that neglect in the upkeep of their property, resulting in the hazardous chips. The defendants of the state, conversely, are arguing that the companies should be held responsible for the near 35,000 Rhode Island children their products have polluted.
Jury selection resumed Friday, and opening statements are scheduled for next week.
