Copyright

(c) 2010-2025 Jon L Gelman, All Rights Reserved.

Friday, August 16, 2013

Coal Industry: The Next Target for a Major Lawsuit

The focus the past several weeks has been the lawsuit in California against the Lead Paint Industry. The lawsuit, pending for over a decade, was brought under the legal theory of "public nuisance." The case seeks to finally force the major suppliers of lead paint to the table to help in removing and correcting the alleged public and private health dangers the Industry created by marketing paint with lead pigment.

While the lead paint case is in its finals trial stages, a theory has emerged to litigate against the Coal Industry for its alleged acts that have damaged public health through crating industrial pollution.

"Coal industry executives ought to pay attention to the lead paint lawsuit currently happening in the California court system.

"Recently, a lawsuit was filed against the makers of lead paint, alleging that the industry knew about the toxicity of their product and yet still promoted it as “safe” to the public. The industry has faced many lawsuits over their products in the past, most of which were unsuccessful for the victims, due to the fact that the industry was often up front about the dangers of their products, and they funded public studies to determine the health effects.

"But things have changed in the American legal system, and attorneys are now taking a page out of the tobacco litigation playbook. By unearthing documents that detail the lead paint industry’s attempted cover-up of the dangers, they avoid the “buyer beware” caveat that the tobacco industry used for so long.