Milwaukee attorney Peter Earle has been trying for nearly a decade to get his client’s lead-paint case in front of a jury. Yet, despite the passage of so much time, his goal remains as elusive as ever.

The state’s conservative chief justice formed an unusual alliance Friday with two liberal-leaning justices in a deadlocked decision that will send a lead paint case back to the court of appeals.

Two Wisconsin Supreme Court justices on Tuesday grilled paint manufacturers on why a Milwaukee woman should not be allowed to sue them over the lead paint she was exposed to as a child.