On July 1, the Rhode Island Supreme Court threw out the only jury verdict against lead paint manufacturers based on use of public nuisance laws by a 4-0 decision.

In its decision, the Court said, "Justice is based on the relationship among people, but it must be based upon the rule of law. This Court is powerless to fashion independently a cause of action that would achieve the justice that these children deserve."

Phil Goldberg, a lawyer at Shook, Hardy & Bacon in Washington, D.C., assessed the ruling, saying "The Rhode Island Supreme Court put an important nail in the coffin of recent efforts to expand public nuisance theory into a super tort that can overcome all previous known bounds of civil liability. The rule of law won out."

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