Opinion ID: 1946087
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Evidentiary Phase of the Declaratory Judgment Hearing

Text: A three-day hearing commenced in late 2005 in the Superior Court on plaintiffs' request for a declaratory judgment. [2] The plaintiffs, to support their contention that the exemption found in the LHMA is arbitrary, relied on certain exhibits. The plaintiffs first submitted a letter from Dr. David R. Gifford, director of the Rhode Island Department of Health (DOH) to Representative Joseph A. Trillo, who served on the legislative commission that studied the LHMA in 2005. Accompanying the letter was a summary of data about childhood lead poisonings in 2004. According to this data, 175 children were significantly poisoned that year and, of those, 129 poisonings resulted in a property inspection. Of those 129 inspections, sixty-three were identified either as owner-occupied or possibly owner-occupied buildings and sixty-four involved non-owner-occupied buildings. There was insufficient data to categorize the remaining two properties. The plaintiffs also introduced an affidavit from Eben Dowell, an urban information specialist, who studied the DOH blood lead testing records from 1998 to 2002 for children seventy-two months old or younger living in multifamily properties in Providence. In his affidavit, Dowell concluded that the occurrence of elevated blood levels was related to the rate of owner-occupancy. Dowell's study revealed that of the properties in which at least one child had been found with a blood lead level of at least ten micrograms per deciliter, 59 percent were not owner-occupied. This percentage increases, according to Dowell's study, with a larger number of children poisoned. For example, of the properties in which at least two children were poisoned, 63 percent were not owner-occupied, and of the properties in which at least three children were poisoned, 69 percent were not owner-occupied. Dowell's study also reported that the percentage of non-owner-occupied properties was higher for more severely poisoned children. For example, of the properties in which one child had been found with a blood lead level of at least twenty micrograms per deciliter, 63 percent were not owner-occupied. This percentage also increased with a larger number of children poisoned. Of the properties in which two children were poisoned, 69 percent were not owner-occupied and of the properties in which three children were poisoned, 71 percent were not owner-occupied. The plaintiffs additionally submitted affidavits of Stephen Mackie and Joe Sousa, both of whom are plaintiffs in this action, saying that they were harmed by the LHMA's requirements as owners of rental properties in which they do not reside. Lastly, plaintiffs submitted printouts of the Housing Resource Commission website, which addressed frequently asked questions about the LHMA. For their part, defendants countered plaintiffs' exhibits with a number of their own. The defendants first introduced the minutes of five meetings conducted by the Special Legislative Commission to Study the Lead Hazard Mitigation Law. The minutes included updates on the LHMA's implementation and recorded statements from a public meeting at which a number of individuals expressed their favor and disfavor with the law. Additionally, in an effort to refute statistics set forth by plaintiffs, defendants offered as exhibits affidavits from a number of professionals who indicated that plaintiffs' complaint cited data that was based solely on the 129 cases of significantly lead-poisoned children and did not reflect the more accurate number of total childhood lead poisonings in 2004. Susan Bodington, deputy director of programs for Rhode Island Housing and director of policy at the Rhode Island Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation, said that 1,461 children entering kindergarten in Rhode Island in 2004 tested positive for elevated blood lead levels, far more than the figure provided in plaintiffs' complaint, which alleged that 129 children tested positive for lead poisoning in 2004. Bodington also explained that [r]isks of poisonings are reduced in owner[-]occupied buildings because the owners is [ sic ] on the premises and can visually identify any lead hazards, is [ sic ] accessible to the tenants if they observe any lead hazards, and because it is in the owner's self interest to maintain a safe and healthy property for themselves and their family. Bodington offered further explanation for the need to differentiate buildings based on the number of units. She noted that rental dwellings in structures with four or more units typically are investment properties and that it was not uncommon to distinguish such properties from buildings with fewer units. She cited, for example, the state fire code, which confers additional requirements on owners of four-unit buildings. In Bodington's opinion, in buildings with more units, there are increased potential health and safety risks to a greater number of tenants. Daniela Quilliam, an epidemiologist at the DOH, also took issue with the number of childhood lead poisonings plaintiffs cited. According to Quilliam, a total of 1,685 children younger than age six tested positive for lead poisoning in Rhode Island in 2004. Of those, 1,167 were children who were newly poisoned in 2004. The defendants also introduced into evidence an affidavit of Kimberly C. Booth, the president of a health-care consulting firm that provides services to the Lead Clinic at St. Joseph's Hospital. Booth stated that she examined 1,851 case records, of which 48 percent listed the owner's place of residence. Of the 893 properties for which records indicated the owner's address, ninety-five were single-family owner-occupied dwellings, which she excluded from her analysis. With respect to the remaining properties, she found that 62 percent were non-owner-occupied and 38 percent were owner-occupied. According to Booth, the data showed that home repairs required to abate lead hazards in owner-occupied dwellings were not as extensive as repairs required in absentee-owned property. Finally, Booth said that the data she examined revealed that there was a 10 percent higher rate of repeat poisonings for non-owner-occupied properties. An affidavit of Liz Colon, an employee of the Childhood Lead Action Project, also criticized plaintiffs' statistics. Colon faulted plaintiffs for asserting that only 129 children were significantly poisoned in Rhode Island in 2004. Colon explained that such a figure represents only those incidences in which the DOH conducted inspections as part of interventions. Colon also referred to several studies that Brown University students conducted, one of which concluded that 'occupants of dwellings    that are non-owner[-]occupied are at an increased risk for lead poisoning.' In addition to these exhibits, defendants also submitted various affidavits from people who believed the exemptions in the LHMA were reasonable. Kent Ackley, an environmental lead inspector in Rhode Island, said that there is ample reason for the state to distinguish between [two-] and [three][-]family owner[-]occupied rental dwellings and those that are not owner[-]occupied. Ackley said that it was his professional opinion that there exists a sound reason for the distinction between owner[-]occupied and non-owner-occupied [two-] and [three][-]unit rental dwellings because when the owner resides in the premises those properties generally receive more attentive maintenance. Ackley also provided justification for distinctions between two- and three-family owner-occupied rental dwellings and four or more family owner-occupied rental dwellings. Ackley explained that maintenance duties in properties with more units are more onerous to the property owner and require a skilled person to make the repairs. He also suggested that owners of four or more family properties have a greater rental revenue stream, thereby increasing property owners' ability to finance any required maintenance. The defendants also presented an affidavit of Robert C. Tommasino, general counsel for the Rhode Island Joint Reinsurance Association. Tommasino said that the LHMA's exemptions are understandable and rational from a property and casualty insurer's perspective. He explained that property insurers often differentiate between commercial and personal residential risks when writing insurance policies based upon the number of units in a dwelling. However, he said that, in the insurance business, the line is drawn at more than four units, rather than more than three, as is drawn in the LHMA. Tommasino also explained that the property insurance industry has a significant history of claims demonstrating that owner[-]occupied dwellings are less likely to have general liability claims brought and sustained against them than non-owner[-]occupied dwellings. The defendants also found beneficial the affidavit of Dowell submitted by plaintiffs; defendants relied on that same affidavit to support their position. In Dowell's study, he had concluded that the occurrence of elevated blood lead levels was related to the rate of owner-occupancy. June Tourangeau, a licensed practical nurse and a lead-care coordinator at the Lead Clinic at St. Joseph's Hospital, also submitted an affidavit on defendants' behalf. Tourangeau stated that, based on her experience in visiting the residences of hundreds of lead-poisoned children in Rhode Island, it was her professional opinion that there are more repeated lead poisonings in homes that are not owner-occupied compared with those where the owner resides in the dwelling. Finally, defendants offered an affidavit from Dr. Patricia A. Nolan, M.D., former director of the DOH, in which she outlined what she perceived as rational bases for differentiating between owner-occupied and non-owner-occupied units. According to Dr. Nolan [t]he rational basis for differentiating requirements for owner-occupied and non-owner-occupied units with respect to preventing and managing lead hazards include inspection and enforcement experience, the large number of young children living in non-owner-occupied units, and the experience gained from the application of similar standards to Section 8 housing units pursuant to the regulations of the U.S. Department of Health and Urban Development. These nineteen documents were all admitted as full exhibits. At the hearing on plaintiffs' request for a declaratory judgment, plaintiffs' counsel cross-examined Dr. Nolan about assertions in her affidavit. Doctor Nolan testified that the DOH's focus with respect to lead poisoning changed from secondary to primary prevention while she was director. Secondary prevention targeted the environment of children who already had tested positive for lead poisoning, while primary prevention sought to identify lead hazards before a child became poisoned and to encourage owners to make their properties safe. According to Dr. Nolan, the LHMA reflects the state's movement toward primary prevention. Doctor Nolan testified that although the department did not have studies per se, in the experience of their case managers and lead inspectors, owners who live on the premises tend to respond quicker to lead hazards. She also testified that the risk of lead poisonings increases in larger unit buildings, attributing that increase to the greater number of children living in such properties and the fact that it is more difficult to maintain such larger premises. On January 10, 2006, the trial justice issued a decision declaring § 42-128.1-8(e)(4) unconstitutional, as being violative of the Equal Protection Clause of the Rhode Island Constitution. Mackie v. State of Rhode Island, No. PC 05-5144, 2006 WL 61053, 2006 R.I.Super. Lexis 3, at  (R.I.Super.Jan. 10, 2006). The trial justice found that there was no rational basis for allowing the children who live in these two[-] and three-unit owner-occupied buildings to be at risk while children living in other units enjoy the protections of the Lead Hazard Mitigation Act. Id. at , 2006 R.I.Super. Lexis 3 at . He further opined that [t]he children in the owner-occupied two[-] and three-deckers cannot be left to the tender mercies of the building owners while children in other apartments enjoy the salubrious benefits of this remedial legislation. Id. Finally, the trial justice suggested that the statute was inequitable insofar as it imposed financial burdens on non-owner-occupied property owners. Id. at -9, 2006 R.I.Super. Lexis 3 at -26. But although he ruled that the statute was unconstitutional, the trial justice concluded his written opinion by stating that the court would not enjoin the state from enforcing the statute. Id. at , 2006 R.I.Super. Lexis 3 at . Instead, he encouraged legislators to promptly revisit the legislation and remedy the statute's constitutional defects. Id. On January 30, 2006, the trial justice denied the state's motion for entry of final judgment pursuant to Rule 54(b) of the Superior Court rules of Civil Procedure. Thereafter, by order dated March 6, 2006, the trial justice denied the state's motion to stay the decision. On March 14, 2006, the state petitioned this Court for a writ of certiorari, asserting three legal errors and contending that the trial justice's denial of its motion for entry of final judgment made appellate review unavailable through any other process. Accordingly, this Court granted the state's petition, as well as the petitions of amici curiae requesting permission to submit briefs concerning this important issue.