Louisville Metro Housing Authority v. Burns

2005

Court: KY Court of Appeals

Facts: Julius Burns got lead poisoning from growing up in the housing authoritys complex.

Posture: Appeal from judgment with $3M punitives

Issue: Are punitives allowed here?

Holding: No.

Rule: It's a non-profit, so any costs it gets will either kill it or be passed on to the taxpayer.

Reasoning: We couldn't increase rent in order to pay for this, and so the burden would just be on the taxpayers. And that would be no punishment for the agency.

Dicta: