Decision Requiring Companies To Remove Lead Paint From Calif. Houses Stands After Supreme Court Passes On Case
A California state court of appeal last November upheld an earlier court's finding of public nuisance but said the companies only have to pay for abatement in homes built before 1951. The paint companies have called the previous rulings unprecedented and noted lead paint was lawful at the time.
The Associated Press:
Supreme Court Won't Take Up Lead Paint Issue From California
The Supreme Court is leaving in place a decision that required paint companies to fund the removal of lead paint from California homes. The Supreme Court on Monday said it wouldn't take up the issue. Courts previously ruled in favor of 10 California cities and counties that argued ConAgra, NL Industries and Sherwin-Williams knowingly endangered public health by advertising and selling lead paint. (10/15)
In other news from the courts —
The Associated Press:
Jurors: Don't Throw Out $289M Weed Killer Cancer Verdict
Jurors who found that agribusiness giant Monsanto's Roundup weed killer contributed to a school groundskeeper's cancer are urging a San Francisco judge not to throw out the bulk of their $289 million award in his favor, a newspaper reported Monday. Juror Gary Kitahata told Judge Suzanne Bolanos in a letter that the jury was convinced by the evidence, the San Francisco Chronicle said. (10/15)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Monsanto Case: Jurors Urge Judge Not To Overturn $289 Million Award
Jurors who awarded $289 million to a former school groundskeeper who is dying of cancer are imploring a San Francisco judge to reconsider her tentative decision to overturn most of the damages against Monsanto Co., manufacturer of the weed killer that they found to be the cause of the man’s illness. (Egelko, 10/15)
The Associated Press:
Firefighters Sue California Gas Company Over Massive Leak
Firefighters who worked in and around the site of a massive natural gas leak sued the Southern California Gas Co. on Monday, saying the utility knowingly let them be exposed to dangerous levels of toxic chemicals. A blowout in a well at the underground Aliso Canyon storage field about 40 miles north of Los Angeles was discovered on Oct. 23, 2015, and took nearly four months to cap after spewing immense amounts of methane into the air. It was the largest known natural gas leak in United States history. (10/15)