All posts tagged: "Lead Paint"

In the January 28, 2010 Scientific American, Carina Storrs interviewed David Rosner, a history professor, regarding his experience as an “expert” in the Rhode Island public nuisance litigation brought by the State of Rhode Island against alleged former manufacturers of lead pigments and paints. Scientific American? Interviewing a history professor? Making comparisons to Hollywood movies? Let’s think about this a minute.
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The Mouse that Roars!  Rhode Island High Court Rejects Expansion of Public Nuisance - (PDF) Washington Legal Foundation

This is a must read for anyone, clerk, justice or lawyer defending or presiding over attempts to expand the definition of public nuisance law.  The Rhode Island Supreme Court justices got it right.

Regulation through Litigation - Point of Law.com

Walter Olson writing in Point of Law in 2005 shows us the seeds that were sown, which are the sources of The Wilderness and its encroachment on legal civilization.

The Law of Public Nuisance: Maintaining Rational Boundaries on a Rational Tort - Washington Law Blog

Authored June 13, 2006 by Victor E. Schwartz and Phil Goldberg, this article gives a detailed history of public nuisance law and how it is being misused today.  It cites several cases including lead paint, MTBE and others, why public nuisance tort theory was used instead of products liability theory, and why this is inappropriate, including the inability to show proximate cause. In discussing MTBE, the authors state:  "In implementing the program, the EPA set levels for when MTBE contamination is considered harmful and focused 'on the need to minimize leaks from underground storage tanks.' Thus, the plaintiff would have to establish that the defendant acted outside this regulatory framework in order to pursue a public nuisance action."  Read More »