Kelly-Moore Paints
Kelly-Moore Paints added asbestos to many of its paint, cement and texture products until 1978. The company closed in 2024 while facing workers’ asbestos lawsuits seeking compensation for mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.
Written by Michelle Whitmer | Edited By Amy Edel | Last Update: July 11, 2024
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Written by Michelle Whitmer | Edited By Amy Edel | Last Update: July 11, 2024
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Founded:1946 -
Years Operated:1946 — 2024 -
Headquarters:San Carlos, California -
Business:Paint and paint products -
Asbestos Trust:None -
Bankruptcy Status:None declared
Kelly-Moore’s History with Asbestos
Kelly-Moore Paints was one of the largest paint companies in the U.S. and sold asbestos-containing products for painting, cementing, texturizing and filling drywall from 1960 to 1978. Kelly-Moore’s spackling and taping compounds also contained asbestos.
For nearly two decades, the company used asbestos as a thickener, filler and fire retardant in its Paco texture products and other interior finishing products. Paco products contained 5% to 10% asbestos.
William Moore and William Kelly originally founded the company in 1946. In 1952, Moore bought out Kelly as a business partner but kept the established name. When Moore retired in 1984, Kelly-Moore had 80 stores and had grossed more than $136 million.
In 2022 Flacks Group acquired Kelly-Moore. At the time, Flacks predicted combined revenue from Kelly-Moore and its portfolio company Pleuger Industries would exceed $1 billion over the next few years.
In 2024, Flacks decided to close all 157 Kelly-Moore retail locations across the country. The move followed decades of fighting tens of thousands of workers’ asbestos lawsuits claiming asbestos-related diseases were the result of Kelly-Moore’s manufacturing.
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More than 48,000 lawsuits have been filed against Kelly-Moore seeking compensation for asbestos-related injuries including mesothelioma. The company commissioned a study that estimated future asbestos liabilities may exceed $170 million.
Unlike most other asbestos product manufacturers, the company hasn’t filed for bankruptcy and continues to face asbestos litigation. Kelly-Moore says neither chapter 11 bankruptcy nor in-court liquidation is an option.
Kelly-Moore Litigation Highlights
- 2024: After spending $600 million on asbestos settlements, company leaders decided to close all retail locations.
- 2018: Billie, Kathleen and James Belmer, as wrongful death heirs to Donald Belmer, filed suit against Kelly-Moore in San Francisco County. Donald Belmer died of asbestos-related lung cancer.
- 2004: 60-year-old Robert Tregget won a verdict in his trial in Los Angeles. He received 14% of a $36.6 million verdict from Kelly-Moore. Tregget used Kelly-Moore’s Paco Quik-Set joint compound to remodel his home in the 1970s.
- 2001: Alfredo Hernandez, a 47-year-old construction worker diagnosed with mesothelioma, was awarded $55.5 million following exposure to asbestos through a Kelly-Moore joint compound product.
Kelly-Moore filed a $4.1 billion lawsuit against Union Carbide in 2002, claiming the defendant failed to inform the plaintiff about hazards in asbestos-containing products before selling Kelly-Moore its asbestos-containing products from 1963 to 1978. Union Carbide claimed Kelly-Moore was aware of the hazards. In 2004, the case was tried in Texas and Union Carbide was found not guilty.
In 2005, Kelly-Moore set forth a motion to retry the Union Carbide case, claiming that Union Carbide hid evidence that connected its product to cancer and asbestosis. Judge J. Ray Gayle III of the Texas 23rd District Court for Brazoria County did not grant the motion.
Kelly-Moore’s Asbestos Products
Until 1978, much of Kelly-Moore’s range of products contained asbestos. Some products the company manufactured contained about 10% asbestos.
Kelly-Moore’s Asbestos-Containing Products
- Bedding cement
- Deco-Tex ceiling texture
- Paco All-Purpose point compound
- Paco finishing compound
- Paco joint cement
- Paco joint compound
- Paco Quik-Set joint compound
- Paco Ready Mix joint compound
- Paco spray texture
- Paco taping compound
- Paco texture
- Paco texture paint
- Paco topping compound
- Paco wall texture
As the International Agency for Research on Cancer points out, “…asbestos was used as a filler to improve the technical properties of paints….” and some asbestos-containing textured products were widely used in home decoration until the early 1990s. Textured paints often contained chrysotile asbestos.
Occupations at Risk of Exposure to Kelly-Moore’s Asbestos Products
Workers encountered asbestos fibers through Kelly-Moore’s products in several ways. Employees who worked in the company’s manufacturing facilities encountered asbestos on the job.
Workers were also exposed when mixing asbestos cement or using joint compound and texturing products. They were also exposed while adding drywall and applying paint and finish to shipyards and commercial and residential building projects.
Occupations at Risk From Kelly-Moore Products
- Carpenters
- Construction workers
- Drywallers
- Kelly-Moore employees
- Painters
- Plasterers
- Shipyard workers
According to a European Commission 2022 report, more than 70,000 workers died in 2019 from past exposure to asbestos. Unaware of the dangers of asbestos, painters often work without any respiratory protection close to asbestos-containing materials and surfaces.
These materials release asbestos particles into the air, which individuals nearby might inhale. Asbestos exposure can lead to a number of diseases, such as mesothelioma, which may develop 20 to 60 years after exposure.
In 2018, an International Journal of Epidemiology study looked at asbestos-related cancer risks for British workers in different industries. Painters were included in one of the highest risk categories, with a risk of mesothelioma almost 16 times higher than in the general population.
This Page Contains 18 Cited Articles
The sources on all content featured in The Mesothelioma Center at Asbestos.com include medical and scientific studies, peer-reviewed studies and other research documents from reputable organizations.
- PACER. (2024, February 14). PACER Court Data. Retrieved from https://pcl.uscourts.gov/pcl/pages/search/findParty.jsf
- O’Bier, T. (2024, January 15). Kelly-Moore out of business after 'cash drain' of asbestos lawsuits. Retrieved from https://scrippsnews.com/stories/kelly-moore-out-of-business-after-cash-drain-of-asbestos-lawsuits/
- Umanzor, J. (2024, January 13). Kelly-Moore Paints To Go Out of Business, Close 5 Stores in San Francisco. Retrieved from https://sfstandard.com/2024/01/13/kelly-moore-nationwide-closure-san-francisco/
- Business Wire. (2024, January 12). Kelly-Moore Paints Announces Plan for Orderly, Out-of-Court Wind-Down of Company Operations. Retrieved from https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240112772459/en/Kelly-Moore-Paints-Announces-Plan-for-Orderly-Out-of-Court-Wind-Down-of-Company-Operations
- Flacks Group. (2022, October 3). Flacks Group Acquires Kelly-Moore Paint Company. Retrieved from https://flacksgroup.com/flacks-group-acquires-kelly-moore-paint-company/
- European Commission. (2022, September 28). Questions and Answers: Towards an asbestos-free future. Retrieved from https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/qanda_22_5678
- Kelly-Moore. (2020). About Kelly-Moore Paints. Retrieved from https://kellymoore.com/company/
- Gilham, C. et al. (2018, March 9). Past and current asbestos exposure and future mesothelioma risks in Britain: The Inhaled Particles Study (TIPS). Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/47/6/1745/4925430
- Casetext. (2014, October 17). Kelly Moore Paint Co. v. Nat’l Union Fire Ins. Co. of Pittsburgh. Retrieved from https://casetext.com/case/kelly-moore-paint-co-v-natl-union-fire-ins-co-of-pittsburgh
- International Agency for Research on Cancer Working Group on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans. 2012. (2012). Occupational Exposure as a Painter. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK304433/
- International Agency for Research on Cancer. (2012). Asbestos (Chrysotile, Amosite, Crocidolite, Tremolite, Actinolite, and Anthophyllite). Retrieved from http://monographs.iarc.fr/ENG/Monographs/vol100C/mono100C-11.pdf
- Rand. (2010). Asbestos Bankruptcy Trusts: An Overview of Trust Structure and Activity with Detailed Reports on the Largest Trusts. Retrieved from https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/technical_reports/2010/RAND_TR872.pdf
- Andrus, J., Hayes, J., McGovern, K. & Hartment, J. (2005, January 5). Court Rejects Kelly-Moore’s Claims of Juror Misconduct. Retrieved from https://harrismartin.com/pdfs/Asb0105Issue.pdf
- Girion, L. (2004, October 23). Union Carbide Cleared in Kelly-Moore Asbestos Suit. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/2004/oct/23/business/fi-asbestos23
- Verdict Search. (2004 November 15). Worker exposed to asbestos in gaskets and joint compound. Retrieved from http://www.waterskraus.com/pdf/Worker%20Exposed%20to%20Asbestos%20-%20Treggett%20$36%20Million.pdf
- Voorhees, T., Hellerman, E., Covington & Burling. (2003 February 28). Peripheral Defendants As Litigation Targets. Fourth National Forum: Asbestos Litigation. Retrieved from https://www.cov.com/en/news-and-insights/insights/2003/02/peripheral-defendants-as-litigation-targets-defense-strategies-for-the-next-wave
- Bloomberg News. (2001, August 31). Company News; Man Wins $55 Million Verdict Against Kelly-Moore Paint. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2001/08/31/business/company-news-man-wins-55-million-verdict-against-kelly-moore-paint.html
- Funding Universe. Kelly-Moore Paint Company, Inc. History. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/kelly-moore-paint-company-inc-history/
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