PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- The Rhode Island Supreme Court plans to Webcast arguments next month over whether the landmark 2006 jury verdict that could force three former lead paint manufacturers to pay billions of dollars in cleanup costs should stand.
Court spokesman Craig Berke said Chief Justice Frank J. Williams agreed to put the May 15 arguments online because of the broad national interest in the case.
A jury in February 2006 found three former lead paint manufacturers -- Sherwin-Williams Co., NL Industries, Inc. and Millennium Holdings LLC -- liable of creating a public nuisance by manufacturing and selling a toxic product. The companies then appealed.
If the court upholds the verdict, the companies could be required to clean lead paint contamination from roughly 240,000 older homes -- a process the state estimates could cost more than $2 billion.
The case is being closely watched because it could inspire additional lawsuits. Rhode Island became the first state to sue former lead paint manufacturers in 1999, and the verdict two years ago was the first court success against the companies.
Lawyers for the state and for the companies will have an hour each to argue over the jury verdict. The court also will hear arguments on other aspects of the case, including the state's decision to hire an outside law firm on a contingency fee basis to help try the case.
Lead paint was banned from homes in the United States in 1978. Studies have shown ingesting the substance can cause reduced intelligence, brain damage and even death.
