(The Center Square) – The city of Milwaukee could soon be back in court over lead paint.
Milwaukee’s Judiciary and Legislation Committee this week agreed to hire a law firm and join Milwaukee Public Schools' lawsuit against lead paint makers.
Alderman Bob Bauman told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the move is essentially a no-brainer.
"Given their premise that we would be brought in as a party anyway, it seemed to make sense to start off as a co-plaintiff with MPS," Bauman said.
MPS has been talking about hiring lawyers and filing a lawsuit to try and recover some of the $42 million it spent last summer to clean up lead paint at nearly 100 schools.
Lead paint in those schools was so bad that Milwaukee's public health managers raised an alarm about lead poisoning in children.
The city would likely end up as part of the case whether the city hires a lawyer or not. The city of Milwaukee owns some MPS school buildings, and there are questions about shared maintenance and storage facilities.
Milwaukee's city council is scheduled to vote on whether to join any potential lawsuit next week.
MPS leaders began officially considering a lead paint lawsuit in February, but there has been talk of a possible suit since April 2025.
In anticipation of the suit, paint maker Sherman Williams hired a law firm that has already sued MPS and asked for thousands of pages of internal documents.
Last week lawyers for that firm warned MPS leaders that a lead paint suit "would be unwarranted and problematic.”
If the city joins a potential MPS lead paint lawsuit, it won’t be the first time Milwaukee was involved in a lead paint case. The city lost a case in 2008 when it sued over lead paint and its dangers to children.