California Lawsuits Against Makers of Lead Based Paint

[ChrWright]

http://sfappeal.com/alley/2010/07/lawsuit-claiming-lead-paint-manufacturers-knew-of-health-dangers-moves-forward.php

[ChrWright]

The paint companies are about to get pounded big time by the sound of it.

[afkama]

The lawsuit names nine companies as defendants, including DuPont, Sherwin-Williams Co. and Con-Agra Grocery Products Co., as well as Atlantic-Richfield.

God Bless the Great State of California.

The paint companies are the ones who should be taking it on the chin for this mess, not us.

They knew about these hazards for fifty or more years and kept promoting and selling the product.

Those are some very deep pockets by the way. Atlantic Richfield is owned by BP.

[Silvertree]

Ha, the water is about to get murkier, at least the sharks have bigger fish to bite now.

[JasonW]

Not sure how true this is but from what I learned in my Vermont lead safe class, many states have tried this and only one (Mass.) actually collected from it. If the State had no bans on the product when it was being sold, they get nadda!

[Bodger]

I'm feeling ill today. I'm certain it's from the lead paint dust. Where do I sign up for the contractor's class action suit?


As much bitching as I do about CA being a nanny state, there sometimes are good things that come from it.

[afkama]

Not sure how true this is but from what I learned in my Vermont lead safe class, many states have tried this and only one (Mass.) actually collected from it. If the State had no bans on the product when it was being sold, they get nadda!

Heh..Heh...

As you've pointed out to me before,

California is different.

[JasonW]

Heh..Heh...

As you've pointed out to me before,

California is different.

Even if they win in the Cali courts it will go to Supreme Court before any money exchanges hands. Unless Cali had a ban on the product while it was still being sold and they can prove without a doubt that it was still used there during the ban, AND that the companies had no warning labels stating it was illegal to use in certain states, it will get shot down just like the rest of them.

[afkama]

Even if they win in the Cali courts it will go to Supreme Court before any money exchanges hands. Unless Cali had a ban on the product while it was still being sold and they can prove without a doubt that it was still used there during the ban, AND that the companies had no warning labels stating it was illegal to use in certain states, it will get shot down just like the rest of them.

I'm not so sure. Those cases you were referencing were shot down by state supreme courts, not federal, as far as I know.

Asbestos was legal for sale too, but once it was proven that they knew of it's health effects they got creamed by the courts.

The question I think, is what does this really mean in the end.

My clients still don't get compensated when they have to pay to have the asbestos removed from their homes.