All the plaintiffs’ bar really needs is a single precedent-setting victory with a public nuisance case. This means that even confronted with long-shot odds, firms like Motley Rice are willing to gamble on the outcome because the ultimate payoff would be astronomical.

In Rhode Island, they rolled the dice and they lost. However, those tempted to think that this nearly decade-long pursuit of former lead paint manufacturers ends in the Ocean State, think again. There are numerous “elsewheres” for Motley Rice and other plaintiffs’ firms to look for mega payouts.

Indeed, the plaintiffs’ lawyers have packed up their travelling litigation road show and are now on to other lead paint public nuisance cases, hoping to find a judge and a jury that will agree with them. Right now, other lead paint public nuisance cases are pending in California in which the Motley Rice firm is involved.

With the lawyers moving on to their next target, Rhode Island residents are left with a number of questions.

For one, what does their loss mean for the state’s taxpayers? In pushing this sham lawsuit, the law firm hired to represent the state forced the paint manufacturers to spend a tremendous amount of money on defense costs. Since Motley Rice was working on behalf of the people of the state, the taxpayers may now be on the hook to reimburse the companies for their legal bills.

And what about the lead paint-related health problems at the heart of the case? Motley Rice lawyers themselves acknowledge that Rhode Island is making significant progress in solving the problem of childhood lead poisoning. The state’s comprehensive lead prevention program—which makes property owners and landlords responsible for ensuring a lead-safe home enforcement—is working, and elevated blood lead levels continue to decline dramatically. Last year, the incidence rate of elevated blood lead levels in Rhode Island was 1.3 percent—the lowest since measurement began more than a decade ago. It seems that the need for lawsuits against paint companies is questionable at best, especially when enforcement of current laws has worked.

But while the plaintiffs’ lawyers take their lawsuits to other states, one final question remains for Rhode Islanders: who gets Ron Motley’s yacht?