Relates to the use of market share liability in civil actions brought against certain producers or manufacturers

Title of bill

An act to amend the general obligations law and the civil practice law and rules, in relation to civil actions brought against certain producers or manufacturers

Purpose

To provide a legal remedy mechanism of market share liability so lead based paint manufacturers will help pay for damages to children who have been poisoned by lead-based paint.

Adds a new section, 11-108, to the general obligations law and amends section 213 of the civil practice law and rules providing for market share liability for a manufacturer of lead-based paint or a manufacturer of any lead constituent of a lead-based paint.

Existing law

New bill.

Justification

Lead poisoning is a very serious health problem for New York's children. Estimates are that thousands of children in New York are poisoned each year, Most housing stock built before the 1970s contain significant amounts of lead paint which is the chief cause of lead poisoning in children. Lead is very toxic to small children, with the possibility of causing severe mental retardation if the poisoning is not caught at an early age. Current New York law and regulations require screening for lead exposure at one and two years old.

Unfortunately, a high percentage of children are not screened even though it is a state requirement. Even if they are screened, it is most often after the fact--after they have ingested lead paint or breathed lead paint dust. While efforts must continue to increase lead exposure testing, it is as important to make certain that children are not exposed to the lead danger in the first place. Housing units must be lead free before children are allowed to live in them. This is critical to poorer children living in urban areas because they are more likely to live in housing built before the 1970s when lead-based paint was discontinued. The most serious problem in solving the lead poisoning problem is the amount of money that it will take to adequately abate the risk in the tens or hundreds of thousands of housing units that have dangerous amounts of lead in them.

The Alliance to End Childhood Lead Poisoning has stated, "the lead industry should be held accountable for cleaning up the hazard it created. For decades, the industry aggressively promoted lead-based paint as safe for use in houses, apartments, schools, and nurseries, claiming that lead-based paint promoted health and sanitation. Although the industry internally acknowledged the hazards of lead-based paint early in the 1900s, it concealed them from the public."

Legislative history

2005-06: S.3760 2007-08: S.4191 Referred to the Committee on Judiciary

Fiscal implications

None.

Local fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

Immediately.