Mississippi Litigation Review & Commentary : Mississippi Personal Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Phillip W. Thomas Law Firm : MS Litigation Review & Commentary

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The Law and More Blog has an interview with Chuck Moellenberg, Jr., the Jones Day partner who led the defense in the recent Jefferson County $7 million lead paint verdict. Here is the story. The story contains an "on the record" quote, which suggests there was an "off the record" excerpt that was deleted. Moellenberg characterizes the verdict as an "aberration" in a county where no manufacturer has ever won.

On another note related to the trial, I am hearing a lot of rumors that trial observers did not think much of the defense experts.

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An A.P. article reported in the Clarion-Ledger stated that Sherwin-Williams plans to appeal the $7 million lead paint verdict in Jefferson County last week:

An attorney for Sherwin-Williams said the company will appeal the verdict. Attorney John Corlew said Sherwin-Williams hasn’t used lead in residential paint since 1972.

Before an appeal Sherwin-Williams will file post-trial motions asking Judge Lamar Pickard to issue a judgment in its favor notwithstanding the verdict or a new trial. Sherwin-Williams will probably also ask the judge to reduce the amount of the verdict. Those types of motions are usually denied by trial judges, but they must be filed an ruled on before a filing a notice of appeal. That means that an appeal will not be filed for weeks. A ruling on an appeal is probably two years away. The case could also settle before an appeal is filed or during the appeals process.

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There are reports of a $7 million plus jury verdict this week in a Jefferson County lead paint trial. The case was Pollard vs. Sherwin-Williams Company. It's my understanding that Plaintiff's counsel included Tim Porter and Dennis Sweet of Jackson and Michael Casano of Gulfport. Defense counsel were John Corlew and Kathy Smith of Jackson.

The trial was of a case where Circuit Court Judge Lamar Pickard granted summary judgment for the Defendant and the Court of Appeals affirmed. On appeal, the Mississippi Supreme Court reversed and remanded the case for a trial on the merits. Here is the Supreme Court's opinion. Barring a settlement, look for this verdict to be appealed.