A Buffalo attorney played a key role in a billion-dollar court decision last week in California.
Three lead-paint makers were ordered by Santa Clara Superior Court Judge James P. Kleinberg to create the $1.1 billion fund to protect children against lead paint produced decades earlier, despite knowing it endangered human health, especially for children. The verdict calls for the companies to put the money in a special health department fund dedicated to lead-poisoning prevention. The municipalities would then draw an allotted amount for use on lead inspections, repairs and removal effecting hundreds of thousands of homes. “From a public health standpoint, the decision is absolutely monumental. The good that this will bring to the children of California cannot be understated. Children today and future generations will be protected from lead poisoning because of it,” Fitzpatrick said. She has worked on the case for the South Carolina-based law firm Motley Rice for the past 13 years. In the bench trial, Kleinberg found Sherwin-Williams Co., NL Industries and ConAgra Grocery Products Co. guilty of creating a public nuisance by manufacturing and selling lead paint long after... |
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Thursday, December 26, 2013
Buffalo attorney had key role in lead-paint ruling
Friday, December 29, 2017
2018 May Bring Reduced Lead Exposure in the Workplace
Sunday, August 11, 2013
Plaintiffs’ expert says lead paint abatement could cost $1.4 billion
Kleinberg |
Research director Dr. David Jacobs of the National Center for Healthy Housing and an authority in abatement procedures testified for plaintiffs Thursday that the cost of a lead paint abatement program could exceed $1.4 billion in the 10 California jurisdictions pursuing a “public nuisance” case against paint manufacturers.
The trial taking place in Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge James Kleinberg’s court is now into its fourth week. The case is expected to continue next week when plaintiffs introduce their last witness and defendants take the stand to argue that no public health threat exists, and that for what little exposure does exist in California, lead paint is not the primary source.
The plaintiffs, including Los Angeles and Santa Clara Counties and the cities of San Diego and San Francisco, are asking one time lead paint and pigment manufacturers to pay for the abatement costs of eliminating lead paint from homes to protect public health. Defendants NL Industries, the Sherwin-Williams Company, ConAgra Grocery Products, DuPont and Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO), claim the suit is without merit, that blood lead levels in California are close to zero and that other exposures, such as gasoline, are more likely to elevate blood lead levels than lead paint.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
This Is Your Brain on Toxins
The need for regulation and responsibility is the focus of this very interesting article that appears in The New York Times today. Today's post is shared from nytimes.org
“Lead helps to guard your health.” One boy, Sam, born in Milwaukee in 1990, “thrived as a baby,” according to his medical record. But then, as a toddler, he began to chew on lead paint or suck on fingers with lead dust, and his blood showed soaring lead levels. Sam’s family moved homes, but it was no use. At age 3, he was hospitalized for five days because of lead poisoning, and in kindergarten his teachers noticed that he had speech problems. He struggled through school, and doctors concluded that he had “permanent and irreversible” deficiencies in brain function. Sam’s story appears in “Lead Wars,” a book by Gerald Markowitz and David Rosner published this year that chronicles the monstrous irresponsibility of companies in the lead industry over the course of the 20th century. Eventually, over industry protests, came regulation and the removal of lead from gasoline. As a result, lead levels of American children have declined 90 percent... |
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Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Plaintiffs in Calif. lead paint case say companies’ witnesses were ‘not persuasive’
SAN JOSE, Calif. (Legal Newsline) — The plaintiffs in a six-week trial over lead paint — 10 cities and counties in California — argue that the one-time paint and pigment manufacturers they’re suing have not presented a “persuasive” case.
The cities and counties — Santa Clara County, San Francisco City, Alameda County, Los Angeles County, Monterey County, Oakland City, San Diego City, San Mateo County, Solano County and Ventura County — filed their 52-page statement of decision with the Santa Clara County Superior Court Friday.
Friday was the deadline for all parties in the lead paint trial, which wrapped up last month, to submit their proposed statements of decision, as requested by Judge James Kleinberg. Kleinberg is presiding over The People of California v. Atlantic Richfield Company et al.
In their statement of decision, the plaintiffs argue that their witnesses were “credible,” and that the defendants’ witnesses — which refuted evidence offered by the cities and counties — were “not persuasive.”
“Defendants contend that ‘intact’ lead paint does not present a hazard. The Court finds that the evidence demonstrates otherwise,” the plaintiffs wrote in their statement and proposed order. “Lead paint on high friction surfaces presents an immediate hazard, even if it is presently intact, because normal use causes the paint to degrade, exposing young...
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Friday, October 25, 2013
U.S. National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week Goes Global
he U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), are partnering with the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paint, to announce the Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of Action. This is the first time National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week will be recognized internationally. More than 35 countries from across the world will take action and hold public awareness activities during this week.“This year’s theme, ‘Lead-Free Kids for a Healthy Future,’ underscores the importance of testing your home for lead and understanding how to prevent harmful exposures. Given that lead impacts children around the world, we are pleased to help National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week go global this year,” said Jim Jones, EPA’s assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. “Joining with other countries to raise awareness about protecting children from the harmful exposure to lead will have a long-term positive effect on the health of children worldwide.” This year, the partners will work to raise awareness about lead paint poisoning worldwide and the need to eliminate lead in paint. The... |
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Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Lead-Paint Decision: Providing A Safer Place for Children
Judge Orders Lead Paint Companies to Pay $1.15 Billion into State Fund to Clean Affected Homes Today's post about lead paint contamination and the victory for children, workers and their families in Califronia is shared from publicjustice.net When Nathaniel Stone moved into an Oakland, Calif. apartment with his 2-month-old son Antonio, he said he was simply looking for a place where the two could “lay our heads.” He never considered the possibility that their home could contain lead paint. But, like many other California homes, the toxin was buried just under the surface of its walls, windowsills and floorboards. Their apartment was austere—a run-down structure with nails sticking through the carpet. In an effort to protect Antonio from the dangers underfoot, Stone kept his son on a bed against a decaying wall. As the baby toyed with peeling paint, he was also consuming a huge amount of lead particles. Stone isn’t sure how long Antonio was exposed to the toxin, but looking back, he said he noticed that his once-quiet boy had become fussy. Nothing Stone said elicited a response from Antonio, and Stone said he occasionally raised his voice in frustration. What he didn’t realize was that the lead poisoning had caused Antonio to lose his hearing. The guilt from that realization was, for Stone, the worst part of the ordeal. “I felt like I had punished him for something he didn’t know he did,” he said. When doctors... |
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Monday, February 4, 2008
Lead Paint Creates A Potential New Wave of Occupational Disease Claims
"The federal government has, through multiple agencies, extensively reviewed the health effects of lead upon workers. Coordinating their effort through the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) the federal government has alerted both employers and employees to the health hazards of lead and the techniques to be utilized when handling this hazardous substance.
"Lead, a bluish-gray metal, has been used since ancient times because of its unusual properties, such as a low melting point, pliability and resistance to corrosion. Hippocrates reported in 370 B.C. that a worker who had used lead suffered a severe case of colic. Lead is used in older American homes, and lead exposures occur in the workplace because of the widespread use of lead compounds during the past century in paints, gasoline and industry.
"The worker becomes exposed to lead when dust and fumes are inhaled and when lead is ingested through contamination on hands, water, food and clothing. When lead enters the respiratory and digestive tracts of the human body it is released to the blood and distributed throughout the system. More than 90% of the body's lead is accumulated in the bones where it is stored for many years. The bones then release the lead back into the blood stream and re-expose the system long after the original occupational exposure has ceased.
"Lead damages the blood-brain barrier and subsequently damages brain tissue. Workers exposed to lead may experience fatigue, irritability, insomnia, headaches and other subtle effects of mental and intellectual decline. Prolonged exposure to lead may present symptoms such as anemia. Lead inhibits the synthesis of heme and damages the ion transport system in the red blood cell membranes. Chronic high exposure to lead may result in chronic nephropathy and in some extreme cases, kidney failure. Gelman, Jon, Workers' Compensation Law 3rd ed., 38 NJPRAC 9.24 (West-Thomson 2008)
It has recently been reported in the scientific literature, that lead, absorbed into the blood stream over decades, may result in poor performance in a wide variety of mental functions. In a recent study, Dr. Brian Schwartz of Johns Hopkins University, remarked that lengthy exposure to lead, cumulative over years, may cause an aging brain to function at a level that is 5 years older that it really is. The Studies at Johns Hopkins objectively measured lead absorbed over a lifetime in human bodies. Dr. Brian Schwartz remarked, "We're trying to offer a caution that a portion of what has been called normal aging might in fact be due ubiquitous environmental exposures like lead."
Like asbestos and tobacco, lead exposure may cause a latent disease which causes the brain to deteriorate at an accelerated rate. Those who worked with lead, and those who were bystanders to lead exposures on the workplace, may have a workers' compensation benefits for the mental condition related to the lead exposure.
This significant new research relating lead exposure to aging puts insurance carriers and employers at risk for both direct claims under workers compensation systems and for claims against potential third parties, ie. property owners and paint manufacturers. Unlike tobacco and asbestos, these claims may be significantly more costly since because of the long potential long payment period of benefits under workers' compensation acts and the potential legions of workers who have been exposed in directly or indirectly.
Sunday, December 22, 2013
Judge Orders Companies to Pay $1.1 Billion for Lead Paint Removal
Video Link: http://tinyurl.com/mwoqs3d On Monday, a judge ordered three paint companies to pay $1.1 billion to remove lead-based paint in California homes in several jurisdictions, including Oakland, San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego, marking the end to a case that took 13 years to litigate. According to the LA Times, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge James P. Kleinberg ruled that ConAgra, NL Industries and Sherwin-Williams had exposed children to a known poison for decades when they sold lead-based paint for use in homes before it was outlawed in 1977 and created a “public nuisance” by their actions. Public health historians Gerald Markowitz and David Rosner mentioned the trial to Bill earlier this year on Moyers & Company noting that a decision against the companies would mark only the second time in history that the industry has been compelled to pay for clean-up. A similar decision in 2006 in Rhode Island was later overturned by that state’s Supreme Court. Markowitz and Rosner warned that, for young children, there’s no safe level of exposure to this dangerous toxin still lurking in millions of homes across the country. In the California ruling, the judge wrote, “The court is convinced there are thousands of California children in the Jurisdictions whose lives can be improved, if not saved through a lead abatement plan.” The LA Times reports that nearly 5 million homes in the 10 cities and counties that joined the lawsuit could require abatement. Many of... |
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Thursday, December 19, 2013
Ruling in California case may prompt new lawsuits over lead paint
The recent $1.1 Billion judgment against the lead paint companies in California for creating a public nuisance may have widespread impact across the nation. Workers' hired to implement the remediation effort will have to be adequately educated concerning safety procedure to avoid lead poisoning. The today's post is share from kansascity.com . Paint makers could face a surge of lawsuits after a California state court judge ordered three companies to pay $1.1 billion to help government agencies get rid of lead from an estimated 5 million homes in the state. The ruling, while preliminary, was a rare loss for an industry that had turned back some 50 lawsuits filed nationwide over the last 25 years by public agencies seeking billions of dollars to remove lead-based paint from homes built before the federal government banned the product from the U.S. market in 1987. "The California ruling is certainly a significant development," said David Logan, a class action expert and dean of Roger Williams University Law in Rhode Island. "If it gets upheld, it will open a new path to victory for public agencies." Lisa Rickard, president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's Institute for Legal Reform, predicted "a surge of frivolous lawsuits" because of Monday's ruling, which the industry plans to appeal. Exposure to lead is linked to learning disabilities and other health problems, especially among poor children living in older dwellings. The Centers for Disease Control... |
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Friday, August 9, 2013
Plaintiffs’ expert in lead paint trial says industry took responsibility for public health
Today's post was shared by Legal Newsline and comes from legalnewsline.com
Markowitz
SAN JOSE, Calif. (Legal Newsline) – Manufacturers of lead based pigments and paints were aware of the dangers lead exposure posed nearly 100 years ago, but promoted them anyway, according to testimony from the latest expert witness in a public lawsuit against current owners of former lead paint and pigment manufacturing companies.
Dr. Gerald Markowitz, a historian and professor at City University of New York, blamed a deregulation principle that allowed paint companies to continue mixing lead in paint for generations, despite known and documented health hazards within the paint industry.
“There was a firm belief in the U.S. up until very recently that regulation of toxic substances, except in food, should not be regulated,” Markowitz said. “It was a firm belief within (the) industry that they had responsibility rather than government to protect the workforce and protect the public.”
Markowitz testified at trial Wednesday in a case brought by 10 cities and counties in California, including Los Angeles County and the cities of San Diego and San Francisco, against companies and parent companies of one-time lead-based paint makers. The plaintiffs want the companies to pay for the cost of eliminating lead paint from homes in their jurisdictions. Defendants include The Sherwin-Williams Company, ConAgra Grocery Products, DuPont and Atlantic Richfield Company.
The People of California v. Atlantic Richfield Company et al is being heard...
Thursday, August 8, 2013
Springfield, Mass. Housing Authority Settles Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Case
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today announced that the Springfield, Mass. Housing Authority will pay an $11,000 penalty for failing to inform tenants their apartments may contain lead-based paint, as required by law.
In addition, the housing authority agreed to render apartment buildings at four of its properties lead safe at a cost of more than $49,500.According to HUD and EPA, the Springfield Housing Authority violated the federal Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act of 1992 (Residential Lead Act) by failing to inform people seeking to rent pre-1978 housing that their homes may contain potentially dangerous amounts of lead.
This action was based on compliance inspections of the Springfield Housing Authority by EPA in 2007 and 2009.“
Today's settlement should remind landlords and property owners that they have a legal responsibility to tell their tenants about known as well as potential lead-based paint hazards in their homes,” said Jon L. Gant, Director of HUD’s Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control. “HUD is committed to working with public housing authorities and other housing providers to make certain we protect...
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Monday, September 24, 2007
OH Action: Voters Empowered To Overturn SB 117
Add another chapter to the story of a contentious lead paint/consumer protection law that has already prompted a legal battle between the legislature and Gov. Ted Strickland over a post-session veto that was later invalidated by the Ohio Supreme Court.
A coalition of consumer advocates kicked off a referendum campaign on Friday by delivering an initial petition filing of about 1,800 signatures to the Secretary of State's Office.
The coalition decided to take advantage of the Supreme Court's decision that allowed for a 60-day window for opponents to collect signatures to challenge the law through the referendum process. (See Gongwer Ohio Report, August 31, 2007)
Committee co-chair Laura McDowall, an Akron consumer attorney, said a referendum would finally offer Ohioans the chance to weigh in on the legislation.
"The law was passed during a lame duck session with absolutely no opportunity for public input," she said. "This referendum campaign is our attempt, the citizens' attempt to allow the people to express what they think about this law."
\n\u003cp\>Gathering the necessary 241,366 valid signatures in the truncated 60-day time frame would be an "incredibly tall order," she allowed. While the Supreme Court technically allowed the standard 90-days, justices started the clock on Aug. 1, the day the court overturned Gov. Strickland's veto of the measure that former Gov. Bob Taft wanted to become law without his signature. We are doing our best to get this done within the timeframe allowed by the Ohio Supreme Court," Ms. McDowall said. "We believe we should have been entitled to the full amount of time that the constitution provides, but we are going to do everything in our power to meet the deadline." The statute (SB117, 126th General Assembly) was intended to block municipalities from filing public nuisance lawsuits against manufacturers to pay for removal of hazardous lead paint from older residential buildings. It also limits damages amounts that juries may award under the Consumer Sales Practices Act," Ms. McDowall said. "The limits on consumer protection damages will basically give dishonest businesses a green light to cheat all they want."The Secretary of State's Office will verify the initial filing contains at least 1,000 valid signatures. The Attorney General's Office is charged with certifying whether the summary of the law is accurate. If the group then successfully collects the required 6% of the total vote cast during the last gubernatorial election, the issue will be placed on the November 2008 ballot. \n\u003c/p\>\n\u003cp\>Meanwhile, the law is still in effect until the coalition files the second round of petitions, according to the Secretary of State's Office.
Consumer Advocates to Pursue Referendum on Lead Paint href\u003d\http://www.yourohiorights.org/\
Gathering the necessary 241,366 valid signatures in the truncated 60-day time frame would be an "incredibly tall order," she allowed. While the Supreme Court technically allowed the standard 90-days, justices started the clock on Aug. 1, the day the court overturned Gov. Strickland's veto of the measure that former Gov. Bob Taft wanted to become law without his signature. (See Gongwer Ohio Report, August 1, 2007)
"We are doing our best to get this done within the timeframe allowed by the Ohio Supreme Court," Ms. McDowall said. "We believe we should have been entitled to the full amount of time that the constitution provides, but we are going to do everything in our power to meet the deadline."
The statute (SB117, 126th General Assembly) was intended to block municipalities from filing public nuisance lawsuits against manufacturers to pay for removal of hazardous lead paint from older residential buildings. It also limits damages amounts that juries may award under the Consumer Sales Practices Act.
"It is a terrible law," Ms. McDowall said. "The limits on consumer protection damages will basically give dishonest businesses a green light to cheat all they want."
The Secretary of State's Office will verify the initial filing contains at least 1,000 valid signatures. The Attorney General's Office is charged with certifying whether the summary of the law is accurate. If the group then successfully collects the required 6% of the total vote cast during the last gubernatorial election, the issue will be placed on the November 2008 ballot.
Meanwhile, the law is still in effect until the coalition files the second round of petitions, according to the Secretary of State's Office.
Consumer Advocates to Pursue Referendum on Lead Paint Bill
http://www.yourohiorights.org/
Why This Is A Bad Law
http://www.yourohiorights.org/why-bad.html
Take Action! Circulate A Petition!
http://www.yourohiorights.org/what-to-do.html
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This web site is sponsored byPaid for by Voters Empowered To Overturn SB 117, Mark McGinnis, Treasurer, 550 East Walnut Street, Columbus, Ohio 43215
Friday, March 29, 2013
Toxic Lead Exposure Results in OSHA Fines for NJ Company
exposure to lead in factories. Lead pigment was used in paints for many years leading to a many serious blood disorders and neurological conditions.
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Lead: Bringing it Home From Work
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
EPA Begins Effort to Reduce Children’s Exposure to Lead Paint in New Haven, Conn. Area
Today's post was shared by US EPA News and comes from yosemite.epa.gov
Release Date: 04/07/2014 BOSTON – In an effort to improve compliance with laws that protect children from lead paint poisoning, EPA is sending letters to approximately 200 home renovation and painting contractors, property management companies and landlords in and around New Haven, Conn. announcing a compliance assistance and enforcement initiative. The EPA letter outlines steps EPA is taking to increase compliance on the part of these entities with the federal lead-based paint Renovation, Repair and Painting (RRP) Rule under the Toxic Substances Control Act. EPA’s RRP Rule, which became effective in April 2010, is designed to prevent children’s exposure to lead-based paint and/or lead-based paint hazards resulting from renovation, repair and repainting projects in residences, schools and other buildings where children are likely to be. This Rule requires individual renovators and firms performing renovations to be trained and certified so that they follow lead safe work practices during renovations of pre-1978 housing and child-occupied facilities in order to protect children from lead poisoning. The letter EPA is sending to New Haven-area contractors, landlords and property management companies invites these entities to an information session at the New Haven Health Department office, 54 Meadow Street, New Haven, on April 16, 2014 from 3 to 6 pm where EPA will provide an overview of the RRP Rule requirements, and introduce an expedited settlement... |
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
Calif. judge denies Sherwin Williams motion in lead paint trial
Today's post was shared by Legal Newsline and comes from legalnewsline.com
SAN JOSE, Calif. (Legal Newsline) — A California judge denied paint maker Sherwin Williams’ motion for summary judgment at the opening of trial Monday in Santa Clara County Superior Court.
Kleinberg
Judge James Kleinberg’s ruling came before the defense started its second day of arguments. The judge also kept defendant ARCO’s summary judgment motion under submission.
Ten cities and counties in California — including Los Angeles County and the cities of San Diego and San Francisco — filed The People of California v. Atlantic Richfield Company et al., which seeks the companies and parent companies of one-time lead-based paint makers pay for an abatement program — eliminating lead paint from homes in their jurisdictions — to protect public health.
Plaintiffs claim the lead paint is a public nuisance. Defendants include The Sherwin-Williams Company, ConAgra Grocery Products, DuPont and Atlantic Richfield Company.
During Monday’s morning session, defense attorney Don Scott called to the stand pediatrician and historian Dr. Peter English who testified that what is known about child lead exposure, pathways into the body, toxicity levels and how public health officials have communicated their knowledge has changed radically over the past century.
Before court adjourned for a lunch break, the plaintiff’s attorney began his cross examination of English.
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Three Known Causes of Death: Lead Paint, Asbestos, and PowerPoints!
Three known causes of premature human death are exposure to lead paint, asbestos, and PowerPoint presentations. The frightening reality is only two of these have been forcefully removed from our everyday lives. Many organizations still use PowerPoint presentations to communicate strategies with the hope of building understanding, while developing ownership and commitment. Some leaders even have the outlandish hope of creating enthusiasm and excitement. This is a flawed expectation, given the reality that people will tolerate the conclusions of their leaders, but will only act on their own. If people don’t change their conclusions about the business and their role in it, they will not change their actions to bring the new ideas to life. Dressing up the conclusions of leaders in a colorful deck does little to mobilize people to change.
People will tolerate the conclusions of their leaders, but will only act on their own
The key is creating a way for people to think together about the strategic imperatives for the business and challenging their current assumptions and beliefs about what will make it successful in the future. The role and goal is not to communicate new strategic acronyms, but to translate the strategic business buzzwords into shared meaning through dialogue, inquiry, and synthesis. Here are three tips that can help in avoiding the death-by-PowerPoint approach to strategy execution through people.
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Friday, November 28, 2014
Feds seeking significant damages against DuPont for contamination in Pompton Lakes
The federal government is seeking significant damages from DuPont for decades of pollution that has contaminated soil and water on the company’s sprawling 600-acre property where the facility played a key role in making ammunition for both world wars, and in adjacent neighborhoods in Pompton Lakes.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and DuPont have reached a cooperative agreement as part of the process to determine the extent of damage to fish, wildlife and other natural resources from the pollution generated by the munitions facility, which DuPont operated from 1902 to 1994. The two sides will share information, and DuPont has agreed to pay for some of the agency’s research. “This way we can work together to achieve restoration of the damaged natural resources more quickly,” said Melissa Foster, a senior biologist with Fish and Wildlife’s New Jersey field office.
Still, DuPont retains the right not to fund certain aspects of the investigation, in which case the agency would conduct them on its own.
The cooperative agreement...
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