EDITORIAL: Brush with the law

Jul 06, 2008 (The Akron Beacon Journal - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- SHW | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Anine-year legal saga ended in Rhode Island last week with a just and favorable ruling for paint manufacturers. The Rhode Island Supreme Court overturned a jury verdict that found lead paint a public nuisance and required paintmakers, including Sherwin-Williams of Cleveland, to implement a removal plan estimated to cost $2.4 billion. Now the city of Columbus and the state of Ohio should take the cue and abandon their similar lawsuits.

A private attorney aiding the city's suit against paint companies told the Columbus Dispatch in May: "I think the Rhode Island case is pivotal." A Columbus city attorney said essentially the same.

There is no dispute that lead paint is a health hazard -- when properties deteriorate and flaking follows. That shouldn't translate into turning the law upside down to find a remedy. To hold a company liable for misdeeds, a plaintiff must produce specfic evidence. In this instance, Rhode Island hoped to achieve a lower threshold via the public nuisance law, contending in essence: Lead paint is harmful. The companies made such paint. Thus, they must be responsible for the cleanup.

What the state failed to establish is the precise way the defendants, the companies cited in the lawsuit, contributed to the problem. Hard to make firms put up billions of dollars without defining their actual liability. The Rhode Island Supreme Court followed the clear thinking in other states. Similar lawsuits have been rejected in Missouri, New Jersey, Illinois, New York and Wisconsin. (A matter is still pending in California.)

In Ohio, a Lucas County judge dismissed such a case in December. Akron, Athens, Canton, Cincinnati, Dayton, East Cleveland, Lancaster, Massillon and Youngstown have dropped their actions.

Too often overlooked is that the country has mobilized for decades to deal with the risk. Lead-based paint for the interior of homes has not been made for five decades. In 1978, the federal government banned certain uses of lead paint. More, the Rhode Island Supreme Court noted that these and other regulatory steps "have proved effective and, as a result, the entire state -- including its 'core cities' -- has experienced substantial declines in lead poisoning."

Many cities would like to do more, and thus the temptation to tap paint companies for the cost. Yet paint manufacturers have done nothing illegal. If anything, they have been cooperative. Cities looking to address the threat from lead paint must target the true troublemakers, those landlords who fail to maintain their properties. If the problem is severe enough, and it is, then cities must devote public resources to addressing the challenge.

The shame is, the money and effort poured into the Rhode Island lawsuit could have been redirected. That is something for the city of Columbus and the state of Ohio to contemplate: Push forward with a misguided lawsuit, almost certain to fail, or get started with a more responsible approach to the problem.

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