[tonyc56]

That's one expensive fine...ouch


http://news.kron4.com/news/judge-rules-3-firms-must-pay-1-1b-to-remove-lead-paint-from-homes-in-8-counties-2-cities/

 

[KennMacMoragh]

Yeah it is, was the paint actually sold in the 30s and 40s or was that just when the homes were built?

 

[Easy Gibson]

I don't think this is going to stand.

 

[Tinstaafl]

Sounds like the ambulance chasers won that one for no good reason. I'd have to side with SW et al based on that report.

 

[concretemasonry]

It appears to the paints applied to paint used for interior applications in the markets tested for interior applications. If someone used exterior paint indoors, that is a different problem.

Dealing in lead sampling kits might be a good very good venture.

 

[The Coastal Craftsman]

Makes you wonder if one day they find a common product we all installed into homes is bad for your health and we all get sued. Funny they only focused on the paint suppliers. China are still sending toys with lead paint and parts yet they get away with it.

 

[FStephenMasek]

If you have studied this case, it is similar to all others which the paint makers ultimately won. They are trying to claim the paint is a "public nuisance," but that term is very well defined and lead paint just does not fit.

Dealing in lead sampling kits might be a good very good venture.

No. The "test kits" are not the correct tool. XRFs are. In California, lead inspections must be done by consultants who are CDPH accredited, and no good consultant would use scrape samples or a "test kit" instead of an XRF.

 

[Ray C]

There are a couple of things in the article that are "perplexing" to me.

1 —" A Superior Court judge in San Jose today ruled that three major companies must pay $1.1 billion to remove lead paint from decades-old homes that may have poisoned children in eight California counties and the cities of San Diego and Oakland. "

"May have poisoned" children?? These companies are being fined on "may have"?? What ever happened to innocent till proven guilty? The court is prosecuting on may have??


2 "Cotchett said the judge sided with the plaintiff’s argument that Sherwin Williams, NL and ConAgra used lead paint inside the homes, some built back in the 1930s and 1940s, knowing that the paint harmed people, especially children under six who suffered from lead poisoning"

If it was public knowledge back in the 30 and 40s that lead paint was harmful, then why did it take the government until 1978 to ban it from being used in lead paint?? IMHO I can see where if a company continued to put lead in paint after it was banned in 1978 there would be liability, but if there was knowledge it was harmful in the 30 and 40s and it wasn't banned then, doesn't the government have just as much responsibility in that they didn't ban it sooner??

 

[FStephenMasek]

Another wrinkle is that Los Angeles County banned lead-based paint for residential uses in 1958. Of course paint makers and sellers could sell it, as who knows what the buyer will do with it, but I could see liability for painting contractors if they ever decided to go after them.

As for "innocent until proven guilty," that is a concept from criminal law, not tort law. "Preponderance of the evidence" is used in tort law.

 

[BCRConstruction]

I agree new products are being thrown out to the public so fast "The latest and greatest" and we the installers are the one's who will be held liable 20 yrs from now when they find out there "might" be something wrong with it.

 

[mstrat]

...ugh...and we wonder what's wrong with our country...3 companies (were they the only ones making paint then?) are responsible...really? give me a freaking break. I fail to understand how something sold before you were born can cause you to think about how to sue them...

Does anyone else ever notice the common denominator in most harmful products? It's California...I've seen "causes cancer in California" on more products than I can count...in elementary school I heard you find the common denominator, in this case, it's California...everyone leave Cali and I assume all will be well again

 

[concretemasonry]

Maybe the appliers that select what to use and where to use it should know something more about their business and how, where and when they use them since they are a part of their core business. Stupidity is not an excuse unless you are a short term low baller.

I you see a new and wonderful product, learn about it (properties, application requirements and of course the safety) since you may have employees using what you tell them to use and how to do it.

 

[spazman]

Just a reminder. Actor Troy McClure on the tv show The Simpsons did an educational film titled " Lead paint, delicious but deadly"