PROVIDENCE – The R.I. Superior Court today held the state government responsible for paying the “co-examiners” who developed a statewide abatement plan during Rhode Island’s failed lead-paint lawsuit.
The ruling came in response to a motion filed in August by former lead-pigment manufacturers The Sherwin-Williams Co., NL Industries Inc. and Millennium Holdings LLC (READ MORE) – a month after the R.I. Supreme Court reversed the state’s February 2006 public-nuisance victory – seeking reimbursement for the $242,121.21 in fees they had paid the court-appointed officials.
In light of that reversal, “it would be inappropriate to continue holding the defendants liable for any portion of the co-examiner expense,” the Superior Court said in today’s ruling. It therefore ordered the State of Rhode Island to reimburse the lead-paint defendants.
“The state made a calculated decision to pursue a claim against the defendants, and voluntarily participate in the judicial system, and thus may not invoke sovereign immunity to shield it from the imposition of costs,” the decision added.
“The court got it right,” said Charles H. Moellenberg Jr., an attorney for Sherwin-Williams. “These companies should not bear the costs of litigation that the Supreme Court said should have been dismissed at the outset, 10 years ago. This case demonstrates that state and local governments solicited by trial lawyers to file public-nuisance lawsuits should recognize that these cases are not cost-free.”
Moellenberg said that, if allowed, the defendants also intend to submit additional bills. “It is common practice for courts to award the prevailing party certain costs related to litigation,” he noted. In a motion still pending before the Superior Court, the companies seek reimbursement for other litigation expenses, but not attorneys’ fees.
In a footnote to today’s decision, the Superior Court noted that Motley Rice – the private law firm that brought the lead-paint suit on the state’s behalf – had signed a contingency agreement with the state in which it “agreed to bear ‘all costs and expenses of prosecuting’ this case.”
The co-examiner fees and other expenses from the remedy portion of the case “could potentially be covered under that agreement,” the ruling added, but that is “not a matter that the court will address at the present time.”
Information about the R.I. Superior Court, including recent court orders and decisions, is available from the R.I. Administrative Office of State Courts at www.courts.state.ri.us. Statements by the lead-paint defendants are posted at www.LeadLawsuits.com.
Your Business Has Gone Global. Has Your Insurance?
A decade ago, “doing business internationally” was mostly a large-company concern. Today, a manufacturer in…
Learn More
