Ohio Legislature Goes to Mat on Lead-Paint Litigation

It could wind up to be one of those landmark bills.  In Ohio, which is home to former lead-pigment manufacturer Sherwin-Williams, members of the state legislature et al. are going to the mat on creating legislation which would prohibit cities from suing the Sherwin-Williamses by piggybacking on the public nuisance law. 

If this becomes a bill and if it is passed, then the only way suits against companies which once manufactured lead paint could be filed would be via the traditional product liability route.  That has a 10-year statue of limitations.  All lead paint stopped being manufactured in 1978. Also, in order for a product-liability suit to proceed, there has to be proof that the specific product was produced by a specific company.  That's impossible with the layers and layers of lead paint in older buildings.  There is no way of taking a chip and determining that this chip came from a can of Dutch Boy paint.

But, as Jim Seigel reports today in THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH, there's plenty of pushback on this proposal.  For example, Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman declares that before this becomes law, the city would join Lancaster, East Cleveland and Toledo in filing lawsuits against the former lead-paint companies. 

Apparently Mayor Coleman might  not understand the complex dynamics of urban economic development.  To encourage current employers to stay or expand and to encourage new ones to settle in, one key incentive has to be a fair tort system.  Litigation risk is to employers as big as any other business risk, right up there with currency fluctuations, new forms of competition and bad weather.  Columbus, with its continual threats to sue, doesn't seem to be providing that sort of level legal playing field for business. 

The timing couldn't be worse.  Today, also in THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH, Catherine Candisky and Jim Woods report on the alarming news that one in five residents in Columbus live in poverty.  According to the Brookings Institution, that's up from one in seven residents seven years ago.  And with the implosion of the American auto industry, you can bet that is going to get worse.

The debate over the bill to stop the lead-paint litigation train in Ohio will continue next week.  This legislative approach could have significant impacts on this entire tort issue - as well as many other tort issues affecting business.