Lead-laden water target for lawsuits

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The lead in the District's water supply will make the city a target for lawyers and lawsuits for years to come, legal analysts say.

One class-action lawsuit already has been filed against the city and the city's Water and Sewer Authority (WASA), but sources familiar with the District's legal community predict many more lawsuits from potentially tens of thousands of claimants -- a legal battle that could last several years and end up costing the city millions of dollars.

"I think there are going to be a lot more lawsuits filed," said Michael M. Ain, a private personal-injury lawyer in the District for the past 25 years. "I think there's going to be a high number of additional cases. ... It can take years for symptoms of lead poisoning to show up physically or neurologically."

Chris Cole, who represents the two plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit against the city, said several law firms have asked him for copies of his complaint.

"I'm fairly confident that some of them plan on bringing action," said Mr. Cole of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky and Walker LLP.

Mr. Cole filed the class-action lawsuit last week, and the city government and WASA have until Monday to reply, he said. The first step is for a judge to rule whether the lawsuit's plaintiffs can show common cause with other plaintiffs who might step forward. Otherwise, the lawsuit cannot represent a "class" of people.

The class-action certification "is usually contested pretty heavily by the defendants," said Dan Tobin, a class-action defense lawyer in the District for the past three years. "Usually, if the plaintiff can't get class action, the case isn't pursued at all."

After the city has responded, the court will rule within a few months, Mr. Cole said.