RI Lead Paint III - That's What Smart Money Is Betting

The smart money wouldn't be unhappy with a Rhode Island Lead Paint Public Nuisance Trial III. 

Obviously, a new trial for the defendants would derail that abatement train lumbering through RI Superior Court.  Yet another delay in getting the expected abatement windfall could deter other budget-starved states and cities from also filing lead paint public nuisance cases.  After all, this has been going on in RI since the late 1990s and not a penny have Sherwin-Williams, NL Industries and Millennium Holdings coughed up. Maybe they never will.  This must be a more efficient way to get funds from lawsuits than chasing after the former lead paint industry. 

Another reason why the smart money isn't engaged in the magical thinking of anticipating that the three defendants will walk away not-guilty from the RI Supreme Court is that it's just that: Fantasy.  The reality is embedded in the composition of that court.  As my intelligence sources clued me in and as I blogged, that court seems to default to liberal, status-quo, yet with a reverence for questions of law.  Given the global spotlight via media and the webcast, it will probably not rule in a way to bring this level of attention back to it. 

Since both the defendants and the plaintiff claim errors by the trial court, a sweet compromise would be a new trial. In that new trial, the plaintiff could play it more conservative and request compensatory damages vs. abatement.  In its brief, the state makes a persuasive argument, rooted in liberal ideology, why state agencies should be reimbursed for the millions plowed into diagnosing, treating and preventing childhood lead poisoning. In addition, the private counsel hired on a contingency basis - Motley Rice - will finally get paid - something.  The 16-something percent the firm would derive from the compensation damages is better than nothing. 

Sources tell me that the defendants have anticipated a possible third time through and have put aside financial reserves for that.  Recession-hit RI can use the spending by defendants, plaintiff, et al. in RI III. There are the hotel-room rentals in pricey Providence, parking at almost $20 a pop daily, meals, dry-cleaning, and purchases of sundries.  It could turn out economically that lead paint, at least the litigation part, has been good to RI.