William A. Patterson and Robert R. Stephenson were recently featured as attorneys involved in a historical Mississippi case by the Mississippi Jury Verdict Reporter.
They represented a landlord in a lawsuit filed by 14 minor plaintiffs alleging exposure to toxic levels of lead based paint. Mr. Patterson and Mr. Stephenson were successful and each of the plaintiff’s cases was dismissed after a three week trial. The trial and the verdict were recognized in the September edition of the Mississippi Jury Verdict Reporter in its section highlighting historical Mississippi cases.
In Jones et al v. NL Industries, the plaintiffs sought $28,000,000 in itemized damages and an unspecified amount of damages for emotional distress and other noneconomic damages. Their lawsuit against the landlord of the apartment complex where they lived and a paint manufacturer alleged cognitive brain injuries due to the plaintiffs’ exposure to lead-based paint. Both the landlord and the paint manufacturer received defense verdicts. The matter was appealed from federal court to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals which affirmed the lower court’s decision.