Posts Tagged ‘Drywall in South Florida’
Chinese Drywall News Alerts
USBC States the Importance of Certification in Remediation for …
PR.com (press release)
There are possibly hundreds of thousands of homes that have to be remediated from defective Chinese drywall in Florida alone. It has been reported that as …
Chinese drywall concerns in Newport News subdivision
By Patrick Terpstra, 13News NEWPORT NEWS – Nearly 70 homes in a Newport News neighborhood could be checked after Chinese drywall was found in one house. …
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Estero home tested for Chinese drywall lawsuits
NBC2 News
ESTERO: A federal judge has ordered 30 homes across the country be tested for Chinese drywall, to set a standard for all of the federal lawsuits surrounding …
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Editorial: Let’s see more action on drywall
The News-Press
That’s at least some help for people whose recently built or remodeled homes have been damaged or ruined by Chinese drywall, which smells like rotten eggs …
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Chinese Drywall Lawyers Appointed to Leadership Roles in Federal MDL
U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon has appointed 14 different Chinese drywall lawyers to serve in leadership roles in the consolidated litigation over defective drywall imported from China, which has been centralized in the Eastern District of Louisiana.
On June 15, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation consolidated all cases filed throughout the country involving issues with Chinese drywall into an MDL, or Multidistrict Litigation. The cases have been transferred to Judge Fallon for coordinated pretrial litigation and discovery, and Judge Fallon has indicated that he intends to fast track the litigation, with the first trials for Chinese drywall lawsuits potentially beginning within six months.
According to an order issued last week, Arnold Levin was appointed to serve as Lead Counsel for the plaintiffs, Russ Herman was appointed as Plaintiffs’ Liaison Counsel and twelve other lawyers were appointed to serve on a Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee.
Thousands of homeowners have experienced problems with defective Chinese drywall that was used to build homes between 2004 and 2007. The drywall was imported from China as a result of a shortage of domestic drywall caused by a housing boom and rebuilding from several hurricanes.
The defective drywall contains sulfur compounds that can emit a “rotten egg” smell, corrode electrical appliances and wiring, and potentially cause health problems for residents. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) reports that complaints have been received from homeowners in 21 states, with most of the complaints coming from Florida, Louisiana and Virginia.
Although individual plaintiffs will continue to be represented by the Chinese drywall lawyers they retained to handle their cases, the attorneys assigned to leadership roles will perform duties during discovery, hearings and meetings that are for the common benefit of all plaintiffs whose cases have been consolidated before Judge Fallon.
The aggressive schedule laid out by Judge Fallon for moving the cases toward trial calls for each side to select 10 cases to begin early discovery, which will later be narrowed down to five cases for trial. The first cases will deal with property damage claims only, because they can be resolved quicker than the Chinese drywall injury lawsuits.
While the litigation is ongoing, lawmakers have been trying to find relief for homeowners affected by the Chinese drywall problems. Last Tuesday, Senator Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) sent a letter to President Brack Obama asking for the White House to mobilize federal resources and asking that the president create a federal Drywall Assistance Center where homeowners can find information on federal resources and the status of drywall investigations.
Nelson also specifically asked Obama to look into homeowner assistance grants and other grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, and suggested that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) could assist with relocation of homeowners affected by defective Chinese drywall.
http://www.aboutlawsuits.com/chinese-drywall-lawyers-appointed-to-leadership-in-mdl-5201/
Investigators to get more money for tainted Chinese drywall
By ALLISON ROSS
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate committee on appropriations has allocated a $9.6 million increase in funding for the Consumer Product Safety Commission, citing in part the agency’s need to investigate tainted drywall products.
In the 2010 Financial Services Appropriations Bill, which was approved by the senate committee last Thursday, the CPSC was given $115 million – a 9.1 percent increase over last year’s funding and $8 million more than what the agency had requested for its budget.
“Families … across the country have seen their dream homes turn into nightmares because of this defective Chinese drywall,” Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., said in a statement praising the increased funding.
Some drywall imported from China between 2000 and 2008 has been found to give off sulfuric odors thought to corrode metal components in homes such as air-conditioning coils, silver frames and copper wiring. Some homeowners have blamed it for respiratory trouble, nosebleeds, headaches and other health problems.
In addition, other homeowners have claimed that some American-made drywall gives off the same sulfuric odors.
The U.S. House committee on appropriations also has approved increased funding for the CPSC, which is the lead governmental agency investigating the tainted drywall issue.
According to a press release from that committee, the CPSC was allocated $113 million for the 2010 fiscal year – an $8 million increase above last year and $6 million more than the budget request.
The statement from the House committee said part of that money should be used to expand the Import Safety Initiative, which puts CPSC inspectors at key U.S. ports.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/content/business/epaper/2009/07/13/drywallfunding13.html
Chinese Drywall Suit Scheduled for Trial September 2010
The trial date for a Chinese drywall suit in Florida is scheduled for later next year, making it potentially the first in a series of cases that will be submitted to a jury involving damages caused by the toxic drywall.
The Miami Herald reports that the lawsuit over Chinese drywall brought by Melissa and Jason Harrell against South Kendall Construction, Palm Holdings, Keys Gate Realty and Banner Supply Co. will go to trial in Miami-Dade Circuit Court in September 2010.
The Harrells’ complaint alleges that defective drywall from China contained high amounts of sulfur, which caused breathing problems and headaches, corroded the coils of their air conditioner and filled their home with a chemical smell. The suit indicates that conditions caused by the defective drywall forced them to move out of their new home, which was built only three years ago.
Thousands of homes across the United States have experienced similar problems from Chinese drywall imported into the country between 2004 and 2007. The drywall was made with fly ash residue from the chimneys of coal-fired power plants, and has been found to contain high amounts of sulfur compounds. Some estimates suggest that the drywall may have been used to build as many as 300,000 homes throughout the country.
The high levels of sulfur in the drywall have been found to cause “rotten egg” smells and the gases emitted by the drywall corrode copper wiring and appliances, such as air conditioner units. There have also been concerns that the drywall is causing health problems such as headaches, breathing difficulties, insomnia and nosebleeds.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (MDL) ordered that all Chinese drywall lawsuits filed in federal courts throughout the country will be consolidated and centralized in the Eastern District of Louisiana for pretrial litigation. The cases will be handled in a coordinated manner to avoid duplicative discovery and inconsistent pretrial rulings. However, no case management order has been issued for the federal lawsuits and it is not anticipated that the first trial date will be scheduled before the end of next year.
While the Chinese drywall suits are proceeding through the court system, lawmakers are seeking several avenues for home owner relief. House and Senate Democrats are currently investigating whether Chinese drywall problems will qualify home owners for special tax deductions under casualty loss tax code laws, and Senators Bill Nelson and Mary Landrieu have called for a Chinese drywall recall.
http://www.aboutlawsuits.com/chinese-drywall-suit-scheduled-for-trial-4623/
Nelson: Chinese drywall tests confirm differences
South Florida Business Journal – by Paul Brinkmann
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency tests of high-sulfur Chinese drywall have confirmed differences between the imported material and U.S.-made drywall, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson said Tuesday.
The new EPA tests showed the Chinese-made drywall contained sulfur that was not in U.S. drywall, strontium (a metallic element) at levels 10 times as high as in U.S. drywall and two other organic compounds generally found in acrylic paint that were not detected in any U.S.-made wallboard, according to a news release.
“We now know there are three things in there that aren’t in other drywall samples,” Nelson, a Florida Democrat, said in the release. “We’ve got the what, and now we need the why and how do we fix it? In the end, I think all this stuff is going to have to be ripped out.”
Nelson’s office said the EPA has determined more tests are needed, including air sampling in affected houses, to determine whether the drywall is the cause of corroded wiring and appliances and the alleged health problems. Nelson said he and Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-Louisiana, will file an amendment to pending legislation to provide emergency funds for further investigation and continued testing.
http://www.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2009/05/18/daily29.html
Probes into Chinese drywall mount, but yield few answers for homeowners
By ALLISON ROSS
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Friday, March 27, 2009
BOYNTON BEACH — Jimmy Diamond says he was flying high back in 2005. He and his wife had good jobs. They had just purchased a two-story, $600,000 home in an upscale Boynton Beach neighborhood.
But now Diamond rubs his face and laughs tiredly when asked what his plans for the future are.
Plasterboard problems
Although not every home in a development has problematic Chinese drywall, these communities have confirmed some properties were built with the material.
Woodfield, Vero Beach
Promenade at Tradition, Port St. Lucie
Cobblestone Creek, Boynton Beach
Mariner Village Townhomes, Stuart
“We have no plan,” Diamond said. “All I know is I’m screwed because I can’t sell my house.”
The Diamonds, who had lined up a buyer for their home, discovered that the development they live in, Cobblestone Creek, has houses with tainted Chinese drywall.
“We had to tell the buyer,” Diamond said. “They backed out the next day.”
The Chinese drywall controversy is snowballing: Investigators from the Consumer Product Safety Commission were in West Florida on Thursday testing homes with the suspect plasterboard. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection is testing to determine whether the material can safely be tossed into landfills. And the Florida attorney general’s office has launched an investigation into Chinese drywall manufacturer Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co. – a subsidiary of German company Knauf Gips KG – and drywall distributor L&W Supply Corp. – a subsidiary of U.S.-based USG Corp. – to determine whether any deceptive practices may have occurred in sales or marketing of Chinese-made drywall.
Used extensively in rebuilding following the hurricanes of 2004 and during the housing boom, Chinese-made drywall was an alternative to the U.S. product, which was in short supply. However, Florida Department of Health guidelines suggest the problem could go back to 2000.
It’s now believed that the material is throwing off foul-smelling sulfuric gas when exposed to heat and humidity. Those gases are also suspected as the cause of corroding wires, pipes, home fixtures and even jewelry.
On Monday, the Florida Department of Health released preliminary results of tests of Chinese drywall that eventually should help determine whether the tainted drywall poses a health risk. The results showed higher levels of organic material and sulfuric compounds – particularly strontium sulfide – than U.S.-made plasterboard.
State toxicologist David Krause said several more tests need to be conducted.
In the meantime, homeowners are left to try to figure out for themselves what to do next.
Thursday night, a group of about 150 Boynton Beach homeowners gathered outside the Cobblestone Creek community’s clubhouse to hear a presentation from a group of lawyers.
Some knew they had drywall in their homes; some weren’t sure. Others were simply scared.
“We put our life savings in this house,” said Tonya Radi, a resident in Cobblestone Creek who moved in about eight months ago. “This is the house we thought we’d live in for the next 20 years. What if it’s not healthy? I’m pregnant right now. Or what if people move out, what will that do to my (homeowners association) fees?”
A number of homeowners in the section of Cobblestone Creek built by developer Northstar Homes have complained of air conditioning coils that failed, strange odors and tarnished jewelry. A few have torn out pieces of the drywall in their attic to find the name of a Chinese drywall manufacturer printed on the back, they said.
Northstar did not return calls for comment
State and federal authorities are helping to find answers for homeowners, but all say that answers may be a long time coming.
A team of investigators – including an electrical engineer and a toxicologist – from the Consumer Product Safety Commission was in Southwest Florida beginning Thursday, testing affected homes for electrical corrosion risks and health risks associated with the drywall, commission spokesman Joe Martyak confirmed.
He said he didn’t know whether the investigators would soon be looking at homes in Palm Beach County or the Treasure Coast, where state officials have received reports.
“The government doesn’t know enough to give us an answer about whether this is safe or not, so I’m not going to put my children at risk,” said Alli Sirota, a Cobblestone Creek homeowner.
She has two small children and another one on the way, she said, and so she and her husband are hiring movers to move into a temporary place.
“I just need to get out,” she said. “I need to think about this one small step at a time or I will go nuts.”
Jimmy Diamond, who said he now can’t sell his home because it’s worthless, added, “The builder probably didn’t even know he was putting in bad product. But it still (stinks) that we tried to sell this house and couldn’t because of this drywall.”
Source: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/business/content/business/epaper/2009/03/27/a1a_drywall_0328.html
Chinese drywall poses risks to Florida homeowners
Published: April 11, 2009
PARKLAND – At the height of the U.S. housing boom, when building materials were in short supply, American construction companies used millions of pounds of Chinese-made drywall because it was abundant and cheap.
Now that decision is haunting hundreds of homeowners and apartment dwellers who are concerned that the wallboard gives off fumes that can corrode copper pipes, blacken jewelry and silverware, and possibly sicken people.
Shipping records reviewed by The Associated Press indicate that imports of potentially tainted Chinese building materials exceeded 500 million pounds during a four-year period of soaring home prices. The drywall may have been used in more than 100,000 homes, according to some estimates, including houses rebuilt after Hurricane Katrina.
“This is a traumatic problem of extraordinary proportions,” said U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler, a Florida Democrat who introduced a bill in the House calling for a temporary ban on the Chinese-made imports until more is known about their chemical makeup. Similar legislation has been proposed in the Senate.