Lead paint makers facing retrial next year

DuPont Co., Sherwin-Williams Co. and
four other former lead-paint makers will go on trial again in
Rhode Island next year over the state’s claims that their products
created a public health threat, a judge ruled.

Superior Court Judge Michael Silverstein in Providence, Rhode
Island, set an April 5, 2004, trial date for the state’s public-
nuisance claims that the paint, used on homes, schools and public
buildings, harms children. The first trial ended in a hung jury in
November 2002.

“If history is any guide, the state is going to have an
equally difficult time proving this paint is a public nuisance,'”
said Gene Pisasale, senior investment officer at Wilmington Trust
Co., which holds 32.6 million DuPont shares.

Rhode Island filed suit in 1999 to force the companies to pay
for removing lead paint, which scientists have linked to brain
damage.

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