Illinois Appeals Court Says Chicago Fails To State Claim, Show Proximate Causation

摘要

The city sued American Cyanamid Co., Atlantic Richfield Co. (ARCO), BP Corporation North America Inc., BP America Inc., ConAgra Foods Inc., ConAgra Grocery Products Co., E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Millennium Chemicals Inc., Millennium Inorganic Chemicals Inc., NL Industries Inc., The Sherwin-Williams Co. and the Chicago Paint & Coatings Association in the Cook County Chancery Court, alleging public nuisance because of lead paint in old housing stock throughout the city. Judge Nancy J. Arnold dismissed the case on Oct. 7, 2003. Public Right Although the city contended that it had sufficiently alleged a public right because lead-based paint in more than 1 million Chicago homes will inevitably deteriorate and cause a health hazards, the First District Appellate Court said it agreed with the defendants' position that nuisances cannot be "contingent."