PROVIDENCE – The three paint manufacturers whom a jury last year found responsible for creating a public nuisance have requested a stay of Superior Court Judge Michael Silverstein’s order that they begin preparing their lead paint abatement effort.
The defendants, Sherwin-Williams Co., NL Industries Inc. and Millennium Holdings LLC, have appealed the case to the R.I. Supreme Court, but state officials want the process to begin while the appeal is pending.
Silverstein had asked both sides to recommend public health experts to serve as a “special master” to oversee the development and implementation of a remediation plan to clean up the roughly 250,000 houses in Rhode Island that contain lead paint.
The state recommended David E. Jacobs, a former U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development official who advised New York City on dealing with lead paint issues and has also overseen lead abatement efforts across the country through HUD.
The defendants asked Silverstein to hold off on choosing a special master until the Supreme Court rules on their appeal. “At a minimum, the path towards a remedy in this case is unclear, and the planning process is a job too large for one person,” they said in a court filing.
