In Re Lead Paint Litigation

In these consolidated complaints, twenty-six municipalities and counties seek to recover, from manufacturers and distributors of *409lead paints, the costs of detecting and removing lead paint from homes and buildings, of providing medical care to residents affected with lead poisoning, and of developing programs to educate residents about the dangers of lead paint. Although the complaints initially sought recovery through a wide variety of legal theories, we are called upon to consider only whether these plaintiffs have stated a cognizable claim based on the common law tort of public nuisance.…