Attorneys from both sides of the $1.15 billion lead-paint abatement payment ordered against three lead paint companies said the case will be appealed.
Paint company spokesperson and former Iowa Attorney General Bonnie Campbell promised appeal after the verdict was issued last December, and one of the plaintiffs' attorneys, Mary Alexander, told REMODELING that she expects the case to stall in court for up to six years more due to those appeals.
Campbell said that the companies have a strong case for fighting to the end, citing the failure of these types of suits in other states over the years.
"Public nuisance cases filed in seven jurisdictions, Ohio, Rhode Island, Missouri, New Jersey, Illinois, New York, and Wisconsin, have all been either rejected by courts or by a jury, or voluntarily dismissed," Campbell said.
Bob Egelko, writer at SFGate.com, says the reason why this case ended differently may lie in a state law that allows judges to stop practices that harm the "community at large."
If it chooses to appeal, the defense will make its case before California’s Sixth District Court of Appeal.
