The landmark lead paint trial took another turn yesterday when lawyers for three companies filed a motion to stay the proposed abatement of thousands of houses tainted by toxic paint.

The stay comes on the same day as lawyers for the state and the paint companies recommended public health experts for the position of special master. The special master, or expert, would assist Superior Court Judge Michael Silverstein with evaluating the development of a remediation plan and overseeing it.

About 250,000 houses statewide are contaminated with lead paint. Rhode Island officials initially projected the cleanup would cost the paint companies $1.37 billion to $3.74 billion.

In February 2006, a Rhode Island jury ruled three paint companies — Sherwin-Williams Co., NL Industries Inc. and Millennium Holdings LLC — were guilty of creating a public nuisance by previously making lead paints that poisoned thousands of children.

Last month, Silverstein rejected motions by the companies to retry or throw out the case. Sherwin-Williams, NL Industries and Millennium Holdings are appealing the decision to the state Supreme Court.

In the stay, lawyers for the three paint companies asked the Superior Court to hold off on the abatement proceedings and special master appointment until the Supreme Court rules on their appeal.

The stay noted that prior to this lawsuit, no Rhode Island court ever “imposed a public nuisance liability for the lawful manufacture, promotion and sale of a product, let alone for an ingredient in a product.”

The memorandum also said the abatement proceedings would put an enormous financial and legal strain on the companies, and Rhode Island homeowners and tenants may disagree with the state on the proposed abatement plan.

Attorney General Patrick Lynch said the stay was an unfortunate “delay tactic,” but “we will do battle with them with our heels dug in and deep resolve, knowing Rhode Island citizens are still paying the price and Rhode Island children are still being poisoned.”

Jack McConnell, a lawyer representing the state, called the motion “preposterous.”

“The reality is… any stay does a great disservice to the people of the state and the children of the state,” he said. “These defendants should start cleaning up the mess they made post-haste.”

Rhode Island is the only state in the country to win a lawsuit against former lead paint manufacturers. Similar lawsuits are pending in Ohio, California, New Jersey, Milwaukee and St. Louis.

Lead paint, which creates neurological and development problems in children and even causes deaths, was banned for residential use in the United States in 1978.

Yesterday, both sides also made suggestions for the special master position.

The state recommended was David E. Jacobs, a national lead paint authority and former director of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Healthy Homes and Lead Hazard Control.

Jacobs wrote a congressional report, “Moving Toward a Lead-Safe America,” and trained thousands of public housing authorities on lead paint inspections and abatement.

The defendants suggested a panel of experts. The list includes: Dr. Mark Cullen, director of the Occupational and Environmental Medicine Program at Yale University; David Gute, an environmental health expert at Tufts University; A. James Barnes, an environmental law professor at Indiana University; Eric Green, a professor at Boston University School of Law; David Harrison of NERA Consulting Economists; and Michael Greenstone, an environmental economist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

It is unclear how long it will take Silverstein to select the special master and finalize the details of the job, said Craig Berke, a court spokesman. It is possible the position could turn into a panel of experts. Lawyers from both sides will submit proposals to establish the duties of the special master next month.

Rhode Island’s battle against former lead paint manufacturers began with a lawsuit in 1999.

The first trial ended in 2002 with a hung jury. The second trial started in fall 2005.

One company, DuPont Corp., was dropped from the lawsuit in June 2005. DuPont reached a settlement with the state to spend millions of dollars to clean up 600 homes and pay for public education programs on the hazards of lead paint.

Another defendant, Atlantic Richfield Co., was not found liable of causing or contributing to the lead paint problem in February 2006. Last month, the state appealed that decision to the Supreme Court.

Michelle J. Lee is a fellow with the Metcalf Institute for Marine and Environmental Reporting.

mlee@projo.com