Trial lawyers lining up at the state trough

Maryland Del. Samuel “Sandy” Rosenberg is like one of those people who walk around with iPod earphones and can’t hear what’s going on in the real world. How else can he be so deaf to the economy tanking around him?

He introduced House Bill 1156, scheduled to be heard March 18, to make it easier for lawyers to sue lead paint manufacturers for problems in Baltimore City homes. A similar bill was rejected in committee last year after The Baltimore Examiner wrote about it.

If passed, Maryland would be the first state in the nation to allow plaintiffs to sue lead paint companies regardless of whether the paint they manufactured was used in the homes of those filing the lawsuit. This is called “market-share liability” because it would divide damages among paint manufacturers found negligent based on their former market dominance.

This is bad for a number of reasons – not the least of which is that it is one more anti-business measure in a state already known for harassing the private sector at a time when Maryland needs to attract new employers.

Let’s forget about lead paint for a moment. What if residents were allowed to sue gaming operators for making them addicted to slots? Or heart patients were allowed to sue snack food companies for including trans-fats in their chips and cookies?

Since our court system has already decided that a lack of personal responsibility can not stop people from suing others for their bad choices, should the biggest casino owners and largest food companies be held responsible for one person’s condition simply because they dominate the market? And should we be forced to pay higher prices for goods and services as a result of those lawsuits?

Surely Rosenberg knows that once the principle is out there, it will be applied across the board, and not just in Maryland. Maybe that’s why the Maryland Trial Lawyers Association has donated over $350,000 to members of the General Assembly since 1999, according to the state board of elections.

That figure does not include the hundreds of thousands donated by law firms and individual lawyers during that time period to members of the General Assembly and to those on the Judiciary Committee where Rosenberg is vice chairman.

And second, this is not about helping victims. National statistics show victims receive only 50 percent of the money in class action lawsuits. Remember, in class action suits, that 50 percent could be divided among hundreds or thousands of people. And since the proposed legislation does not cap attorneys’ fees, lawyers stand to gain millions if it is passed.

Besides, the number of children exposed to lead is shrinking each year. The latest Maryland Department of the Environment report on childhood lead poisoning shows that the number of children with elevated lead blood levels in the state dropped from 1.2 percent in 2006 to .8 percent in 2007 and to 3.5 percent in 2007 in Baltimore City, down from 4.6 percent in 2006.

Strong regulatory enforcement and regular inspections of older housing are key reasons the number of children infected keeps declining and why the state plans to “eliminate” lead poisoning by 2010.

So this is not about preventing more children from being hurt. It’s about unleashing the power of government to whip a particular industry, and it reeks of the crony capitalism practiced by those in the banking and mortgage industries toward  their sponsors in Congress.

And it’s about making those with deep pockets pay lawyers for problems that good maintenance and regular house cleaning could prevent. Rosenberg himself said it was time for paint companies to pay: “The paint industry, like tobacco companies, knew [their product] was a poison and never did anything about it.”

In a state like Maryland where legislators just raised taxes across the board, its passage would signal once again that living and doing business in Maryland will cost you. Rosenberg and the other sponsors of the bill can continue to pretend they live in their own bubble, but not without deterring those entrepreneurs, scientists and other highly skilled workers the state needs to thrive.

They should drop the bill and focus on crafting legislation that improves the business climate for everyone in the state, not just those who donate to their re-election campaigns.

Examiner columnist Marta H. Mossburg lives in Baltimore and can be reached at martamossburg@gmail.com.