Attorney General Richard Cordray dismissed a lawsuit yesterday that sought to force 10 paint manufacturers to pay billions of dollars to Ohioans who suffered health consequences from lead paint decades ago.

The case, filed by former Attorney General Marc Dann in April 2007, was considered a long shot but with a potentially huge payoff for thousands of Ohioans whose homes had lead paint before it was outlawed in 1978.

"I understand and strongly agree that exposure to lead paint is a very real problem," Cordray said in a statement announcing the dismissal. "But I also know that not every problem can be solved by a lawsuit."

The case, pending in Franklin County Common Pleas Court, targeted companies that had made lead paint as well as the parent companies of long-defunct manufacturers.

The case alleged that the manufacturers knew about, or should have known about, the health hazards of lead, which include developmental disabilities, mental retardation and even death.

Nearly all lawsuits against paint manufacturers have been dismissed because of the difficulty of identifying the culpable parties and because it was legal to use lead in paint before 1978.

Last July, the Rhode Island Supreme Court threw out a multibillion-dollar jury decision against three lead-paint manufacturers. Rhode Island was the first state to confront the paint manufacturers in court.

Shortly after the unanimous Rhode Island decision, the city of Columbus dropped its own lawsuit seeking to force nine paint manufacturers to clean up homes contaminated by lead paint.

The Ohio lawsuit was an issue during last year's campaign to replace Dann, who had resigned because of a scandal in office. Republican candidate Mike Crites said he'd dismiss the lead-paint case as frivolous and harmful to business, while Democrat Cordray declined to take a position.

In his statement yesterday, Cordray said it was in the best interest of Ohio's economy not to continue the case.

Instead, the state should pursue "public/private partnerships" to address problems with lead-paint exposure, the statement said.

Cordray spokeswoman Holly Hollingsworth could not specify what form those partnerships might take.

A public-relations representative of the paint companies said he was unable to reach the companies to comment.

jnash@dispatch.com

The case, filed in 2007, sought billions of dollars for those who suffered health problems.