$305 Mill. Lead Paint Settlement Reached With Santa Clara Co.

SAN JOSE, CA — After nearly 20 years of a hard-fought legal battle, the county counsels and city attorneys of 10 California jurisdictions have reached a $305 million settlement with providers to clean up toxic lead paint hazards, Santa Clara County announced Wednesday.

Under the settlement agreement, defendants The Sherwin-Williams Company, ConAgraGrocery Products Company, and NL Industries, Inc. will pay the settlement to be divided between Santa Clara, Alameda, Los Angeles, Monterey, San Mateo, Solano, San Francisco and Ventura counties; along with the cities of San Francisco, Oakland and San Diego to address lead paint poisonings.

“Lead Paint shall mean pigments, paints, and coatings of any kind containing any
lead, and all hazards and risks related to pigments, paints, and coatings containing any lead," attorneys described the toxicity.

The settlement agreed to a week ago allows the cities and counties to access abatement funds without further delay, ends the threat of further litigation and provides the flexibility to create more expansive, efficient and effective clean-up programs tailored to the needs of their communities.

“Today’s settlement holds former manufacturers of lead paint responsible for the harm they have caused to generations of California’s children,” Santa Clara County Counsel James R. Williams. “This settlement is a victory for children and families throughout California. We have fought to hold these companies accountable for nearly twenty years and will finally have needed funds to devote to protecting our children from lead poisoning.”

Williams was joined in sentiment by San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera.

“Lead paint has created a public health crisis for communities in California and across our nation,” Herrera said.

The settlement arose from the complaint filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court.

In 2000, the Santa Clara County Counsel’s Office filed the landmark case to hold former lead paint manufacturers responsible for promoting lead paint for use in homes "despite their knowledge that the product was highly toxic," the county contends.

Young children are especially vulnerable to lead poisoning, the effects of which are irreversible.

Although lead paint was banned for residential use in 1978, it is still present in millions of homes in California and continues to be the leading cause of childhood lead poisoning in California.

After a six-week trial five years ago, the Santa Clara County Superior Court ruled the three former lead paint manufacturer were liable for knowingly marketing a toxic product. The court ordered the defendants to provide the funds needed to clean up lead paint inside homes built before 1978 in those cities and counties waging the challenge.

In 2017, the Court of Appeals upheld the Superior Court’s decision, but limited the defendants’ liability to clean up homes built before 1951. The California Supreme Court and United States Supreme Court each declined to review the Court of Appeal’s precedent-setting decision. Prior to the settlement, the parties were continuing to litigate issues related to the final judgment and the process through which defendants would pay for the lead paint clean-up ordered by the California courts.

More information on the history of the case may be found by visiting www.sccgov.org/leadpaint.

See also

• Supreme Court Lead-Paint Victory For Santa Clara Co.