Introducing Law Students to Public Health Law through a Bed Bug Scenario

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Introduction to Bed Bugs,” available at <http://www2.epa.gov/bedbugs/introduction-bed-bugs> (last visited June 1, 2015); Joint Statement on Bed Bug Control in the United States from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention <http://www2.epa.gov/bedbugs> (last visited June 1, 2015); Ohio Department of Health, “Managing Bed Bugs in the Workplace,” available at <http://www.odh.ohio.gov/∼/media/ODH/ASSETS/Files/dis/vector%20borne/bedbugworkfacility.ashx> (last visited October 28, 2013).

See Borreli L. , “Good Night, Sleep Tight: Bed Bugs and Other Living Things Found Crawling In Your Bed,” Medical Daily , March 19, 2015, available at <http://www.medicaldaily.com/pulse/good-night-sleep-tight-bed-bugs-and-other-living-things-found-crawling-your-bed-326280> (“A dirty and dark bedroom is the perfect breeding ground for bed bugs.”); Doggett S. L. , “Bed Bugs: Clinical Relevance and Control Options,” Clinical Microbiology Reviews 25, no. 1 (2012): 164–192, at 167, available at <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3255965/> (last visited June 1, 2015).

Id. ( Doggett ), at 164–165.

See Infection Control Today, “ActiveGuard Mattress Liners Reduce Bed Bugs' Ability to Lay Eggs, Study Finds,” April 2, 2015, available at <http://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/news/2015/04/activeguard-mattress-liners-reduce-bed-bugs-ability-to-lay-eggs-study-finds.aspx> (last visited June 1, 2015). There is promising research on substances that make bed bugs less likely to reproduce, for instance, pesticide-treated fabrics. See id.

See Caan J. , “Wil-Kil Pest Control Advises Travelers to Take Precautions Against Bed Bugs this Spring Travel Season,” Mequon Now , March 27, 2015, available at <http://www.mequonnow.com/userstoriessubmitted/297811701.html> (last visited June 1, 2015) (“Because these pests are not associated with uncleanliness or poor hygiene, they are just as likely to show up at a five-star resort as they are a roadside motel, which means all travelers need to be diligent in taking precautions to avoid bringing home bed bugs.”).

Pest Control Technology, See Bayer, Ace Exterminating Partner Service a Homeless Shelter , March 11, 2015, available at <http://www.pctonline.com/Bayer-Tales-Transformation-Steinau-homeless-shelter-donation.aspx> (last visited June 1, 2015).

Hasnie A. , “IUPUI Student Complains of Bed Bugs in Off-Campus Housing,” Fox News Indianapolis, March 27, 2015, available at <http://fox59.com/2015/03/27/iupui-student-complains-of-bed-bugs-in-off-campus-housing/> (last visited June 1, 2015).

McCorkell M. , “Towson Courthouse Reopens After Bed Bug Scare,” CBS News Baltimore, February 12, 2015, available at <http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2015/02/12/towson-court-house-reopens-after-bed-bug-scare/search%2F&ei=b7AeVeCVOsqLsAWA5oGoBQ&usg=AFQjCNER7XmVFIEAEuscgk9qfD_Ty11HEQ&sig2=FCEbNZwpaBML1eOV_53PJw>.

Donohue P. , “Bedbugs Found on Another Subway Line, MTA Takes Three R Trains Out of Service,” New York Daily News , September 10, 2014, available at <http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/bedbugs-found-subway-line-article-1.1934519> (last visited June 1, 2015).

City of Lubbock Finance Department, Population Demographics January 2014, available at <http://www.mylubbock.us/docs/default-source/finance-files/demographics.pdf?sfvrsn=8> (last visited June 1, 2015).

See Department of Numbers, Lubbock Texas Residential Rent and Rental Statistics (2013), available at <http://www.deptofnumbers.com/rent/texas/lubbock/> (last visited June 1, 2015); Douglas R. S. , Survey Shows Stable Rental Market , Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, July 28, 2013, available at <http://lubbockonline.com/business/2013-07-28/survey-shows-stable-rental-market#.VR6zwU0tGck> (last visited June 1, 2015) (“Lubbock's rental market is stable and continues to grow, enjoying a near-record occupancy rate in June [2013].”).

Merchant M. , “Bed Bugs: Do-It-Yourself Control Options,” Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service, available at <http://citybugs.tamu.edu/factsheets/biting-stinging/others/ent-3012/> (last visited June 1, 2015).

See, e.g., National Conference of State Legislatures, State Bedbug Laws, available at <http://www.ncsl.org/research/environment-and-natural-resources/state-bedbug-laws.aspx> (last visited June 1, 2015) (demonstrating the wide array of state health codes pertaining to bed bugs).

See Tex. Prop. Code Ann. § 92.052(a) (West 2013). See also Kamarath v. Bennett, 568 S.W.2d 658, 660–61 (Tex. 1978) (finding the existence of an implied warranty of habitability in Texas landlord-tenant cases).

Tex. Dept. of State Health Services, “Public Nuisance Complaints,” available at <http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/phs/publicnuis.aspx> (last visited June 1, 2015).

See Office of the Texas Attorney General Consumer Protection Division, “Tenant Rights,” available at <https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/cpd/tenant-rights> (last visited Apr. 6, 2015).

See Wilson W. R. , TAA Board approves new Bed Bug Addendum , Texas Apartment Association, available at <http://www.taa.org/taa-news/2459-taa-board-approves-new-bed-bug-addendum> (last visited June 1, 2015).

Cindy George, Bedbugs Create Irritating Situation for Renter , Houston Chron. (Feb. 16, 2013), http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Bedbugs-create-irritating-situation-for-renter-4283826.php.

See, e.g., Tex. Health & Safety Code § 341.012 (West 2013). The Texas statute for Abatement of a Nuisance provides that:

(a) A person shall abate a public health nuisance existing in or on a place the person possesses as soon as the person knows that the nuisance exists.

(b) A local health authority who receives information and proof that a public health nuisance exists in the local health authority's jurisdiction shall issue a written notice ordering the abatement of the nuisance to any person responsible for the nuisance. The local health authority shall at the same time send a copy of the notice to the local municipal, county, or district attorney. Id.

See Gostin Lawrence O. , Mapping the Issues: Public Health, Law and Ethics 3 (Georgetown Public Law and Legal Theory Research Paper No. 10–36, 2010), available at http://scholarship.law.georgetown.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1373&context=facpub.

See Galva Jorge E. , Public Health Strategy and the Police Powers of the State, 120(1) Public Health Reports 20, 20–27 (2005), available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2569983/ (“Suspected cases of communicable diseases arriving from outside the United States and the spread of communicable diseases between states are controlled by federal legislation.”).

See, e.g., N.H. Rev. Stat. § 540-A:3. In New Hampshire, the statute dictates that a tenant cannot refuse the landlord access to the premises if the landlord is required to evaluate whether bedbugs are present. Id.

See, e.g., Tex. Health & Safety Code § 341.011(1)–(12) (West 2013) (listing public health nuisances).

Tex. Health & Safety Code § 341.011(10) (West 2010).

Chicago, Ill. Municipal Code § 4-4-322 (2012), available at <http://gallery.mailchimpcom/064a4eb35bd70aef6394f83eb/files/O2012_8254.pdf> (last visited June 2, 2015).

See Anders M. , “Don't Let the Bedbugs Bite: Michigan Bills Define Landlord, Tenant Roles in Eradicating Pests,” MLive, May 7, 2014, available at <http://www.mlive.com/lansing-news/index.ssf/2014/05/bedbugs_michigan_legislation.html> (last visited June 2, 2015); Michigan Dept. of Community Health, “Michigan Manual for the Prevention and Control of Bed Bugs,” available at <http://www.michigan.gov/documents/emergingdiseases/Bed_Bug_Manual_v1_full_reduce_326605_7.pdf> (last visited June 2, 2015).

Michigan Dept. of Community Health, Michigan Manual for the Prevention and Control of Bed Bugs, available at <http://www.michigan.gov/documents/emergingdiseases/Bed_Bug_Manual_v1_full_reduce_326605_7.pdf> (last visited June 2, 2015).

Texas Bed Bug Registry, “Bed Bug Infestation Rep. & Google Maps Tracking the Bed Bugs Epidemic,” available at <http://www.bedbugpestcontrol.com/category/bed-bugs-world/bed-bugs-united-states/bed-bugs-texas> (last visited June 2, 2015); see also Bed Bug Registry, <http://www.bedbugregistry.com> (last visited June 2, 2015).

KCBD, “Food for Thought,” available at <http://www.kcbd.com/category/6128/food-for-thought> (last visited June 2, 2015). Other regions have similar programs. See Sullivan H. , “Restaurant Report: Richmond,” CBS-WWBT, available at <http://www.nbc12.com/category/153460/restaurant-report> (last visited June 2, 2015).