Sherwin-Williams says $7M verdict for football player unfair

Sherwin-Williams says $7M verdict for football player unfair

Sherwin-Williams is doing everything it can to overturn a recent $7 million jury award against it in a lead paint lawsuit, claiming it is the result of sympathy for a small-town sports star.

Sherwin-Williams filed a pair of motions Monday in the case of Trellvion Gaines, a former high school football and basketball player in Mississippi’s Jefferson County who claims the company is liable for the lead poisoning he suffered as a child. A jury sided with him in June.

The company filed a Motion for Judgment Not Withstanding the Verdict and a Motion For New Trial.

“(T)he jury’s verdict is not based on sufficient evidence, conflicts with overwhelming evidence in Defendant’s favor, and could only result from jury sympathy for a hometown basketball and football star with learning disabilities,” the motion for judgment says.

Lead paint was outlawed in 1978. Several muncipalities, counties and states have alleged paint companies created a public nuisance by manufacturing it when it was still legal to do so.

LegalNewsLine
7/21/9