By Don Lehman
QUEENSBURY - A state Supreme Court jury in Warren County late Tuesday awarded $1.2 million to a Glens Falls boy who suffered lead poisoning in a Glens Falls apartment more than 10 years ago.
The panel awarded the money to the family of 12-year-old Christopher Phillips, whom his lawyer said has suffered developmental problems because he was exposed to lead paint when he lived with his parents at 154 Bay St. between 1992 and 1994.
The family's lawyer, Peter Danziger of Albany, said the award — which came after a 2-1/2-week trial — was the largest for lead poisoning in the state north of Albany.
He had sought $4 million in the case.
The boy's parents, Craig and Renee Phillips, had sued the owners of the building, John and Diane Matthews.
The defendants' insurance company is liable for the judgment, if it is not overturned on appeal.
The Glens Falls Housing Authority had initially been sued as well, but was dropped as a defendant before trial.
The jury awarded the boy $1 million for future lost wages and $200,000 for pain and suffering.
Danziger said during the trial that blood tests when Christopher was living at the home showed high levels of lead, and the boy has since been diagnosed with learning disabilities.
The Buffalo lawyer appointed to the case by the Matthewses insurance company, Nelson Schule, said he will likely ask that Supreme County Justice Richard Aulisi reduce the $1 million portion of the verdict to a lesser, "present-value" amount.
He said the defense had not decided whether to appeal the decision yet, though.
Schule said there was a "real dispute" about whether Christopher's developmental problems were caused by lead paint.
He told the jury during his closing argument that there was a family history of such issues.
He also said the Matthewses were not told the home had lead paint and that it passed inspection by U.S. Housing and Urban Development officials twice while the Phillips family lived there.
HUD was involved because the family qualified for HUD funding.
He said the Phillipses never complained about peeling paint or brought the situation to the landlord's attention.
"He (Mr. Matthews) relied on HUD, and they did a couple of inspections," Schule said. "Each inspection, the house passed. He was not aware of a dangerous lead condition inside the home."
Danziger, though, said Mr. Matthews was aware of the lead paint in the home and that the Phillips family had young children.
Mrs. Phillips testified that she told Mr. Matthews about peeling paint as early as the spring of 1993 and that she later told him about her child's high lead level tests, which began in November 1993.
She testified she told him the apartment needed to be repainted in spring of 1994, but it wasn't repainted nor was paint supplied to the couple before the family moved out that October.
HUD inspected the apartment in November 1993, and found it was in "acceptable form," Danziger said.
Danziger said he represented clients who received several larger lead poisoning awards in the Albany area, including one for $4 million.
But the $1.2 million figure was the highest north of the capital city.
Danziger was assisted in the case by lawyers James Nixon and Mark Richter.