Abatement

abatement, n.
1. The act of eliminating or nullifying.
2. The suspension or defeat of a pending action for a reason unrelated to the merits of the claim.
3. The act of lessening or moderating; diminution in the amount or degree.
4. Wills & estates. The reduction of a legacy, general or specific, as a result of the estate's being insufficient to pay all debts and legacies.
-- abate, vb.
-- abateable, adj.
(Black's Law Dictionary 8th ed., © 2004 West Publishing)

According to the Supreme Court of Rhode Island, the ability to abate an alleged nuisance is critical in determining the party responsible for the nuisance:

" The state has not and cannot allege facts that would fall within the parameters of what would constitute public nuisance under Rhode Island law. As set forth more thoroughly herein, defendants were not in control of any lead pigment at the time the lead caused harm to children in Rhode Island, making defendants unable to abate the alleged nuisance, the standard remedy in a public nuisance action" (Supreme Court of Rhode Island, July 01, 2008; pp4).