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IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF MARYLAND

No. 131 September Term, 2008 _________________________________________

ZI'TASHIA JACKSON, a minor, et al. v.

THE DACKMAN COMPANY, et al.

__________________________________________ Bell, C. J. Harrell Battaglia Greene *Murphy Adkins Eldridge, John C. (Retired, Specially Assigned)

JJ. __________________________________________ Opinion by Eldridge, J. _________________________________________ Filed: October 24, 2011 *Murphy, J., now retired, participated in the hearing and conference of this case while an active member of this Court; after being recalled pursuant to the Constitution, Article IV, Section 3A, he also participated in the decision and adoption of this opinion.

The principal issues in this case concern the constitutionality of the provisions in the Reduction of Lead Risk in Housing Act which grant to the owners of certain rental properties, under specified conditions, immunity from personal injury suits based upon a child's or a pregnant woman's ingestion of lead. We shall hold that the statute's provisions granting immunity violate Article 19 of the Maryland Declaration of Rights and are, therefore, invalid. I. The Reduction of Lead Risk in Housing Act was enacted by Ch. 114 of the Acts of 1994 and is, for the most part, codified in Maryland Code (1982, 2007 Repl. Vol., 2011 Supp.), subtitle 8,

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