ELR Citation: ELR 20152
No(s). 2006AP2670 (Wis. Jul 14, 2009)

The Wisconsin Supreme Court affirmed a lower court decision dismissing an individual's defective design claims against manufacturers of white lead carbonate pigment, a substance once used commonly in household paint. A claim for defective design cannot be maintained where, as here, the presence of lead is the alleged defect in design, and its very presence is a characteristic of the product itself. Without lead, there can be no white lead carbonate pigment. Accordingly, the complaint fails to allege a design feature that makes the design of white lead carbonate pigment defective.