6 - Expanding Public Nuisance

Summary

Chapter 6 addresses the types of remedies or relief that plaintiffs may obtain when asserting a public nuisance claim for public mass tort harms. In the original understanding of public nuisance as a criminal offense, remedies were limited to fines or a criminal sentence. Traditionally at common law, plaintiffs who prevailed on a public nuisance claim were entitled to an abatement of the nuisance, or an injunction to enjoin continuation of the nusiance, for example closure of a noxious factory or removal of a higway obstruction. The chapter then documents the gradual expansion of public nusiance remedies in the 21st century to embrace the concept of public nusiance abatement funds, whereby offeding defendants are required to pay large sums of money into a abatement fund to cover the cost to municipalities for services involved in abating the nusiance. The chapter additionally discusses the problem of the ability of individuals to obtain compensation apart from the group remedy, through satisfaction of the special injury rule. The exposition chronicles the inconsistent and confusing judicial application of the special injury rule.