Personal Injury Lawyers in New York

The Missouri Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from the city of St. Louis over its lead-based paint public nuisance lawsuit against former manufacturers of lead-based paint. The City of St. Louis had to remove noxious lead paint from city housing, and because the city could not identify which company made which lead paint, the city sued seven market participants. At trial, the paint companies prevailed due to insufficient evidence presented by the city. An appeals court upheld that decision in the fall of 2006.

The paint companies named in the suit were as follows:

• Benjamin Moore
• Millennium Chemicals Inc.
• NL Industries Inc.
• PPG Architectural Finishes Inc.
• SCM Corp
• Sherwin-Williams Co.
• SGD Inc
  

The city's attorney accused the paint companies of knowingly selling a product they knew posed a serious health risk to the city's homeowners. This case is considered a nuisance case and not a personal injury case because the city cannot prove which lead-poisoned buildings have which company's paint. However, the lead in the paint is a threat to public health and had to be removed.

The Missouri Supreme Court ruled 4-3 in favor of the paint companies.