MADISON, WI (WTAQ) - Wisconsin senators are expected to vote soon on a bill that changes the rules for civil lawsuits that have been filed against the makers of lead-based paint. It was almost a year ago when Republican Governor Scott Walker and GOP lawmakers passed legal liability reforms that required plaintiffs to name the companies they have complaints against. That measure was meant to nullify a 2005 State Supreme Court ruling which said children sickened by lead paint did not have to name the manufacturers of the paint in question. The new bill, introduced by Senate Republican Glenn Grothman of West Bend, would make plaintiffs in almost 175 pending lawsuits name their manufacturers as well. A Senate committee held a hearing on the fast-track bill last Week. And attorney Peter Earle said he never heard of legislation that changes the rules of pending court cases for the benefit of specific litigants. Earle, who represents all the children in the current cases, called the bill quote, "obnoxious and onerous." He said it's something that would happen in North Korea and not in America. But Grothman said it was wrong for the Supreme Court to make paint manufacturers liable without litigants identifying their products. In his words, "You can't operate commerce with that type of decision made."
