ABSTRACT
Increased knowledge about the possible dangers of indoor air pollution has created a different type of danger for a broad spectrum of the business community: the threat of massive lawsuits. Individuals who are claiming that they have been injured by the air inside their offices or homes have launched lawsuits against employers, manufacturers of chemicals and building products, architects, builders, contractors, and realtors. Lawyers for the plaintiff have been creative in devising means of dealing with significant uncertainties in identifying the party or parties responsible for the ills of their clients. Different juries in different cases can construe similar fact patterns in different ways, leaving companies without any reliable guidance on what they can and cannot do, or must or must not do, within the bounds of their legal obligations. In view of the expanding number of indoor air pollution lawsuits, companies would be well advised to consider the prospect of liability.
