Product Liability -- 2006



County of Santa Clara v. Atlantic Richfield Co.   (California Supreme Court)

Public nuisance

The NAM joined with the American Chemistry Council, the Chamber of Commerce and the California Manufacturers and Technology Ass’n in an amicus letter 4/18/06 urging the California Supreme Court to review a lower court ruling that allows public agencies to sue product manufacturers under a public nuisance claim for abatement based on anticipated future harm. This is a lead pigment case, and the lower court ruling threatens to erode well-established doctrines of product liability and allow plaintiffs to circumvent the statute of limitations. We argue that public nuisance claims greatly expand the potential liability of every manufacturer, even where the products satisfy governmental standards and the state-of-the-art at the time of use. On 6/21/06, the California Supreme Court declined to hear this appeal.