For the past decade, public nuisance claims have been filed to address a wide variety of issues, including global climate change, lead paint, MTBE, vapor intrusion and other environmental and product defect concerns. These claims proliferated from coast to coast as citizens, public authorities and their contingent fee counsel sought relief.
On July 1, 2008, the Supreme Court of Rhode Island, the smallest state in the nation, gave a loud and mighty roar as it joined the chorus of high courts rejecting attempts to expand the use of the law of public nuisance as a means to sue product manufacturers.
In a landmark decision, the Rhode Island Court ended almost a decade of litigation against lead paint manufacturers and joined a growing list of other state supreme courts that have refused to enlarge the boundaries of this ancient tort.
But the controversy is far from over. All eyes now turn to California, one of the last major bastions of public nuisance litigation involving defective products -- and the laboratory where public nuisance claims involving climate change and other major issues will be tested and resolved.
Learn more about:
- The Rhode Island Court's ruling and rationale
- The history of public nuisance litigation at common law
- The propriety of using public nuisance claims to redress product defects
- Public nuisance and environmental harms, including climate change
- Establishing and challenging causation
- The applicability of market share liability to public nuisance
- Equitable relief and equitable defenses
- Compensatory and exemplary damages
- The permissibility of contingent fee counsel in claims by public authorities
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