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City of Chicago v. Beretta U.S.A. Corp.11/18/2004
es for the costs of asbestos abatement). In addition, we note that A, C & S predates this court's decision in In re Chicago Flood, in which the recognized exceptions to the Moorman doctrine were listed. The exception urged by plaintiffs was not noted. In re Chicago Flood, 176 Ill. 2d at 199.
Plaintiffs also cite several cases from other jurisdictions for the proposition that the economic loss doctrine does not apply when the defendant is alleged to have breached a duty to the general public. For example, in In re One Meridian Plaza Fire Litigation, 820 F. Supp. 1460, 1480 (E.D. Pa. 1993), rev'd on other grounds, 12 F.3d 1270 (3d Cir. 1993), the federal district court held that, under Pennsylvania law, the economic loss doctrine was not applicable to a public nuisance claim. One Meridian Plaza, however, is not inconsistent with our result in In re Chicago Flood, although the federal district court took a slightly different approach by linking the policy underlying the economic loss doctrine to the standing requirements for public nuisance claims. One Meridian Plaza, 820 F. Supp. at 1480-81. The special harm requirement, which must be met in order for an individual to have standing to bring a public nuisance claim,
"is intended to serve the same purpose as the economic loss doctrine: to limit liability arising from an event. Public nuisances, by definition, affect many people. If every person or entity injured from a public nuisance could recover economic or even property damages, liability could be exorbitant; thus only those plaintiffs who suffer special harm may recover." (Emphasis added.) One Meridian Plaza, 820 F. Supp. at 1481.
Plaintiffs in the present case can neither avail themselves of the standing conferred upon individuals under section 821(C)(2) of the Restatement on the basis of having suffered a particular harm, nor escape the strictures of the Moorman doctrine, because they have pleaded no injury to person or property.
Plaintiffs' reliance on People Express Airlines, Inc. v. Consolidated R. Corp., 100 N.J. 246, 495 A.2d 107 (1985), is similarly misplaced. People Express, like One Meridian Plaza, involved a single catastrophic accident, specifically, a tank car accident in a rail yard that necessitated evacuation of nearby businesses due to the threat of explosion. People Express, one of the affected businesses, suffered no property damage, but did incur economic losses from the shutdown. People Express, 100 N.J. at 248-49, 495 A.2d at 108. The theories of liability pleaded were negligence, nuisance, and strict liability. People Express, 100 N.J. at 250, 495 A.2d at 109. The Supreme Court of New Jersey expressed concern with the economic loss doctrine, which allowed some parties, but not others, to recover economic losses based on "the fortuitous occurrence of physical harm or property damage, however slight." People Express, 100 N.J. at 251, 495 A.2d at 109. On the other hand, the court found:
"It is understandable that courts, fearing that if even one deserving plaintiff suffering purely economic loss were allowed to recover, all such plaintiffs could recover, have anchored their rulings to the physical harm requirement. While the rationale is understandable, it supports only a limitation on, not a denial of, liability." People Express, 100 N.J. at 254, 495 A.2d at 111.
The limiting principle adopted by the New Jersey court was that of foreseeability. People Express, 100 N.J. at 256, 495, A.2d at 112. Under the new rule, "a defendant who has breached his duty of care to avoid the risk of economic injury to particularly foreseeable plaintiffs may be held liable for actual economic losses that are proximately caused by its br
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