Given that Cuomo is doing so much right and so little wrong, bullying, or reeking of self-interest the issue clearly is: Has Cuomo been establishing a new model for the state AG?
The Spitzer way has imploded- and not just for curious sexual behavior. Those who imitated Spitzerism such as Marc Dann and Jim Hood have become jokes.
And, in Rhode Island, the AG Patrick Lynch who decided to take a second shot at the former lead paint companies by demonizing them as poisoners of children could be toast. This Friday, the former defendants in that litigation – Sherwin-Williams, NL Industries, and Millennium Holdings – will be back in court. This time to recoup some of the money they spent on Lynch’s Folly. On July 1st, the RI Supreme Court ruled the lead paint litigation as a case without merit. Sticking with the Spitzer tough-guy script, Lynch is opposing any reimbursement.
BTW, some reading for those who agree with me – that a new state AG model is emerging – is the RI SC lead paint public nuisance decision in favor of the defendants and against Lynch. Here it is Download statev.LeadIndustriesAssoc.,Inc..pdf. This represents the first shoe dropping on the old model. The second shoe will be how much the defendants get reimbursed over the long haul. The August 15th hearing in RI Superior Court is about peanuts – $242,000. The motions to follow will be about millions and could be the dagger in the heart of the Spitzer/Dann/Hood/Lynch State AG Way.
Law and More
8/11/8
Magnolia Tribune
