A bill now poised for passage in New York’s city council would make it easier to file lawsuits against landlords claiming tort damages for lead exposure in children. The Bloomberg administration has declined to endorse the bill, saying it could generate “huge” liability costs. However, the bill (which has been avidly sought by the litigation lobby) is likely to be passed by the Council today anyway and has more sponsors than are necessary to override a mayoral veto (“Mike brushes off paint bill”, New York Daily News, Dec. 6; Winnie Hu, “City Council Moves Forward With Lead-Paint Legislation”, New York Times, Dec. 13). “The Council’s liability standards will make it very hard for even the most responsible owners to defend themselves,” says Michael Lappin, president of the Community Preservation Corp., which finances housing rehabilitation in older neighborhoods, “and high liability will choke off insurance.” (Julia Vitullo-Martin (Manhattan Institute), “Council is lead-painting city into a corner”, Dec. 10; “Doing the Giffie Shuffle” (critical editorial), New York Post, Nov. 21; “A Lead-Paint Law We Can Live With” (supportive editorial), New York Times, Nov. 29 (fee-based archive)).
Of city children diagnosed with high levels of lead in their blood, a substantial share have ingested the element through other routes (in fact, a substantial share do not live in apartments with lead paint at all). The bill, however, contains a “presumption” clause aimed at making it hard for property owners to dispute hazard findings. Among other clues to the bill’s redistributive objectives: it “makes owners liable even if they are unaware that a child is living in an apartment. Why not require (as did the prior law) parents to inform property owners that they have young children living with them?” (Joseph Strasburg (Rent Stabilization Association, property owners), “Lead Paint Legal Scam”, New York Post, Nov. 24). See Oct. 13; Apr. 24 and Nov. 30, 2000. Update: Council passes bill by 44-5 margin (N.Y. Times, Dec. 16). Further update Feb. 13: Mayor’s veto overridden; Jun. 2: housing market thrown into turmoil.
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