|
|
Article: Environmental stigma damages: speculative damages in environmental tort cases.
- Article from:
- UCLA Journal of Environmental Law & Policy
- Article date:
- December 22, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 University of California at Los Angeles, School of Law. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
INTRODUCTION
Courts across the United States are recognizing a new cause of action that allows property owners to recover the diminution in property values resulting from environmental Stigma that accompanies the contamination of their properties.(1) The recoveries are predicated upon the public's negative perceptions about, and unsubstantiated fears of, contaminated property.(2) Unfortunately, by allowing plaintiffs to recover for damages based upon conjecture and speculation, these courts have defied fundamental principles of common law.
Stigma, in the environmental context, may be broadly defined as the negative perceptions associated with ...