In a move that could open the door for future efforts to hold corporations accountable for knowingly endangering public health, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear appeals from paint manufacturers of a ruling that requires them to pay more than $400 million for lead paint inspections and removals in more than a million California homes.

During the drawn-out legal battle, the manufacturers—Sherwin-Williams, ConAgra, and NL Industries—warned that the ultimate outcome would set a precedent for corporate liability lawsuits. Reporters and legal experts were quick to note that the ruling—which stems from litigation first launched in 2000—could bolster “public nuisance” cases tied to the global climate crisis, the U.S. opioid epidemic, and gun violence.

In an August legal brief (pdf) filed in support of the lead paint makers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a business lobbying group, claimed that “just in the last twelve months, in federal courts alone, at least 80 new public nuisance cases of this sort have been filed by states and other government entities against American businesses, all seeking to impose sweeping liability.”

City, county, and state governments across the country have launched lawsuits that seek to hold major oil and gas companies accountable for the consequences of anthropogenic global warming, which is largely driven by the continued use of fossil fuels. Comparing the lead paint battle to suits that California cities and counties brought against Big Oil, UCLA environmental law expert Sean Hecht told the Los Angeles Times, “The cases are strikingly similar.”