Lead Paint Guide

Lead Paint Litigation Does Not Always Yield Good Results
Michalis 'BIG Mike' Kotzakolios


Defined Tag: Lead Paint Litigation.

Lead paint litigation cases have not always had the same outcome. This seems to have been dependent on where the case was tried as well as what charges were used to try the case. For example, in 1999 the state of Rhode Island filed, and then refilled when the first suit failed to get a verdict from a jury that could not decide, against paint manufacturers. Their case was against the paint companies that used lead paints to paint houses and apartments up until 1978 when the laws against lead paint came into effect. This process was not a quick one and it was not until early 2006 that there was a favorable outcome and the state of Rhode Island won against three big paint companies. Their victory meant that these companies have to pay for the cleanup of homes with lead paint. It is unfortunately a verdict currently under appeal.

Other states have not had the same good luck. In Missouri the courts ruled against the state in their lead paint litigation case saying that there was not sufficient proof to decide which companies were at fault for the lead paint in homes there. They further claimed that there was not enough proof to show which company’s products caused poisoning in which specific children. This has caused many states to have to back off on their litigation for fear that the results will be no different than the latest decisions elsewhere. They have tried to get around the need to identify specific brands since everyone knows that all these brands used lead up until 1978, but that does not seem to be enough proof for the courts.

Individuals are also considering lead paint litigation, but not against the paint companies. They are suing the sellers and renters who have neglected to mention that the houses or apartment that they have leased or sold still contain lead paint. This has only come to light because of illnesses suffered by themselves, or more commonly their children. These lawsuits look like they will have a better chance of succeeding since it is a law that sellers and landlords must give this information to those who will be leasing or buying.

BIG Mike is a well known author, developer and Adsense expert as well as the owner of Niche Maniacs - a unique Adsense Marketing System designed to build long-term passive income streams from Adsense, Amazon, YPN, Chitika and other PPC services.