While in the past, public nuisance claims typically sought recovery for damages in connection with land use in public spaces, pollution of public waterways, or extreme noise levels, litigators sought to expand the definition to areas outside these traditional applications, including public nuisance claims against manufacturers for their alleged role in the opioid epidemic. However, recent developments provide insight as to the narrowing of that possibility.
Punitive damages, long the scourge of businesses named in lawsuits, and a tricky issue for insurers, may soon be much harder to come by in Florida after a recent opinion handed down by the state Supreme Court.
Lawsuits targeting industries tied to public health and food supply chains can have a truly chilling effect not only on research and development but on the availability of products we use and need every day. If we continue down this path of lawsuit abuse, we’ll see more critical industries move production abroad, while the availability of new medicines and critical products decreases in the U.S.
As appellate courts issue decisions and trials across the country reach verdicts, the contours of tort law are being reshaped and defined — specifically the applicability of public nuisance in product liability and mass torts cases.
