...Rhode Island taxpayers...may have to cough up $240,000 to pay costs associated with two examiners hired by the state as part of a sweeping abatement plan... [The] decision by Rhode Island superior court Judge Michael Silverstein may have a chilling effect on whether other states pursue class action suits against lead paint makers. Laura Ellsworth, a Jones Day attorney for Sherwin-Williams Co. who argued on behalf of the defendants (the other two are NL Industries and Millennium Holdings [part of Access Industries]), told us that states may think twice when plaintiffs firms tell them that bringing these types of suits is a cost-free exercise.