Judge OKs Plan to Warn Wine Buyers of Lead Hazard

Over protests that consumers were getting a sour deal, a San Diego judge Thursday approved a plan to warn wine buyers of possible lead contamination from the foil wrappers capping even some of the best-known labels.

In approving the plan, San Diego Superior Court Judge Judith Haller settled a state complaint that evolved from a novel consumer lawsuit filed by a San Diego law firm. The suits are based on a 5-year-old California ballot measure, Proposition 65, that aims to curb public exposure to toxins.

Under the settlement, brokered by the state attorney general’s office, winemakers will stop using the lead-laced wrappers, restaurants and bars will warn employees of the dangers of serving lead-wrapped wine and newspapers will carry warning advertisements. The ads are due to begin in a week or two, Deputy Atty. Gen. Edward G. Weil said.

In addition, the dozen or so wineries affected by the settlement, including such well-known vintners as Gallo and Robert Mondavi, will pay the state a civil penalty of $200,000 and underwrite a $700,000 fund for the newspaper ads, which will advise consumers to wipe bottle tops with a damp cloth after opening to sweep away lead residue.

That $900,000 total, however, left William Lerach, a San Diego attorney whose firm brought the original suit complaining of lead dangers, deeply dissatisfied.

He argued that the settlement did nothing to stop the future sale of existing bottles that bear lead-laced wrappers. Nor, he said, did it warn consumers of the danger, documented last summer in a federal study, of lead left in the wine from manufacturing.

Lerach called the settlement “grossly inadequate.” He promised the judge that, if his firm were left alone to pursue the case, it would secure a civil penalty of at least $1 million. If it didn’t, he said, the firm--Milberg, Weiss, Bershad, Specthrie & Lerach, which specializes in big-money consumer suits--would pay the difference.

Haller turned down the offer, saying it was in the public’s interest to settle cases, not keep them going.

Winemakers began using lead caps centuries ago to keep rats and bugs from gnawing into corks while bottled wine was aging in cellars.

Overexposure to lead can lead to birth defects and, even without the suit, some winemakers had begun in recent years to replace the lead-foil wrappers on their bottles, saying that consumer safety concerns outweighed the expense of using other metals or plastic.

In July, Lerach’s firm sued 22 winemakers under a provision in Proposition 65 that allows citizen suits against a company for failure to warn of exposure to toxics.

The ballot measure, which passed by a 2-1 margin, also allows local prosecutors or the state attorney general to take over such litigation rather than allow numerous private suits. On Aug. 6, Atty. Gen. Daniel E. Lungren filed suit against 12 leading wineries.

The settlement Haller approved Thursday had been announced two weeks ago.

Under the deal, wineries agreed to stop using lead caps on wine made in California by Dec. 31. Foreign winemakers must stop by March 31, 1992.