WPCNR ALBANY ADVANCE. From the Office of Assemblyman Adam Bradley, 89th District. April 21, 2004: In advance of Earth Day, Assemblyman Adam Bradley (D-White Plains) announced Assembly passage today of a bill he sponsored that would give individuals harmed by violations of environmental law greater ability to file a legal claim in court (A.8673).

“One of our country’s most basic freedoms is the right to seek justice in court when a person has been harmed. For some reason, people are stripped of that right when harmed by polluters,” Bradley – a member of the Assembly’s Environmental Conservation Committee – said. “That’s not right, and this bill fixes that.”

Under current law, individuals are effectively barred from suing entities for environmental harm if they claim an injury that isn’t significantly different than the injury suffered by the public at large.

“Most environmental injuries are harmful to a class of people, not an individual. This legislation would allow for citizens to protect their interest in ensuring a clean, healthy and safe environment,” Bradley said. “There’s no better way of celebrating Earth Day than doing something that could really make New York a cleaner, healthier place to live.”