Thomas v. Mallett

Steven Thomas (plaintiff), born in 1990, suffered cognitive defects from ingesting white lead carbonate paint in homes built decades earlier; given the passage of time, the sheer number of manufacturers, the generic nature of lead paint, and missing records, he could not identify which specific manufacturer's pigment caused his poisoning. He sued several pigment manufacturers (defendants) in negligence and strict liability, seeking to extend the market-share (risk-contribution) theory first applied to the drug DES to lead-based pigment; the manufacturers argued their product wasn't fungible because different manufacturers used different chemical formulas. The trial court refused to extend risk contribution beyond DES and granted summary judgment to the defendants, the court of appeals affirmed, and Thomas appealed.