The city will join a growing legal battle against the paint industry today, with a lawsuit that would force the cleanup of more than 40,000 central city homes where children are at risk for lead poisoning.
Lead poisoning can stunt growth and cause learning problem s for children.
I don't know it's uphill. People have said that about other liability cases, like tobacco. More defendants could be added. Attorneys involved in the lawsuit would not discuss strategy, but it appears to be an attempt to pit various paint companies against each other, preventing the unified defense the industry has presented in other lead lawsuits. Mautz and NL Industries, for instance, could easily argue they are not solely responsible for the old paint in Milwaukee homes, and thus should not be held entirely liable for the tens of millions of dollars needed to address the problem.