Wall Street Journal editorializes today (sub-only) about the retrial recently started in Providence, in which the zillionaire law firm of Motley Rice, which has developed close relations with the political class in the state of Rhode Island, is employing the state as plaintiff in its effort to crack open the coffers of companies that manufactured lead paint long ago. Contrary to the impression left by the Journal's editorial, sales of lead paint for interior use had largely ceased by the 1950s; paint intended for use on the exterior of buildings remained on the market until the 1970s. More on the suit: OL Nov. 1 and links from there.