A settlement outlined Wednesday between a major manufacturer of Chinese-made drywall and homebuilders who used the tainted product in Florida, Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi could affect 800 to 1,500 homes, attorneys said.
Lawyers called it a significant step toward resolving problems blamed on the drywall in some 10,000 buildings.
Plaintiffs’ lawyer Bruce Steckler said the settlement with the Knauf Group manufacturer involves reimbursements to builders of homes that have been fixed or are being repaired now, and others that are in line to be remediated. He expects U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon to approve the settlement.
Fallon presides over other cases involving more than 10,000 properties owned by people who blame damage, including corroding plumbing and electrical connections, on defective Chinese-made drywall.
Steckler acknowledged that there is a long way to go in settling the many cases but said the settlement was significant.
“We see now a collaborative and cooperative effort by homebuilders, the plaintiffs and Knauf to fix and repair homes,” he said.
“It’s a piece of the puzzle,” said Russ Herman, head of a committee of attorneys representing plaintiffs in the case. The attorneys noted that more than a thousand other homes are included in an earlier court-approved pilot remediation program involving Knauf.
Herman said German-based Knauf was the maker of tainted drywall at plants in China that wound up in thousands of homes. Chinese-based businesses also provided significant amounts of the material that wound up in U.S. homes.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Chinese drywall in home made daughters' toenails fall off
TAMPA -- When the toenails of Patrick and Ilknur Bradshaw's two young girls fell off this summer, they say their doctor blamed their house.
The Chinese-made drywall damaged their air conditioning unit and appliances, and they think it contributed to a multitude of other health problems. But the toenails were the last straw. They moved out weeks later.
"The doctor recommended we move out as soon as possible," Patrick Bradshaw said. "Now, the house is going to sit here, unlivable."
A month later, the kids' toenails were back, and their respiratory problems were gone.
Thousands in Florida have toxic drywall, imported during the housing boom. While there has been no government link between the building product and health problems, the material emits a sulfur gas, which corrodes metal, smells like rotten eggs and makes homes worthless.
But what makes the Bradshaws' story stand out is the timing. They bought their home in Tampa's Easton Park neighborhood in late 2008 — after the drywall scandal hit the news. That's part of the reason they say they chose to buy a new home instead of one that was a few years older.
"I was happy at the time, thinking, 'Oh, they found the Chinese Drywall problem and so now the builders won't be putting it in houses anymore,' " Patrick Bradshaw said. "It never occurred to us builders could still be using it."
Most of the defective drywall was used during the housing boom, from 2004 to 2007, although some homeowners have reported bad drywall installed years earlier or later. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported seeing some cases as late as 2009, although that's not as likely as during the peak years.
Not all cases are dealt with the same way. Some builders have chosen to replace the caustic drywall, some have done nothing, and others went bankrupt, leaving devastated homeowners to pick up the enormous bills.
Homeowners insurance typically doesn't cover defective drywall and often drops insurance policies when homeowners report the bad drywall.
The federal government recommends replacing the drywall. Some homeowners have sued and won individual cases. Some joined class-action suits and won, but didn't get enough to fix their homes. Others are still fighting in court.
Builders say it costs, on average, about $100,000 to replace the drywall in a typical home. The home has to be stripped down to the studs and rebuilt from the inside.
In the Bradshaws' case, their builder, Mobley Homes, doesn't agree that the drywall needs to be replaced.
The couple has ripped out walls to find the "made in China" stamp to prove their drywall is bad. But Mobley lawyer Len Johnson says that doesn't prove anything.
"Not all Chinese drywall is bad," Johnson said.
He said Mobley will offer homeowners, "a fix" for bad drywall, but only if the builder agrees it's bad. He wouldn't elaborate about what kind of "fix" the builder may offer but said it likely would not need to replace all of the drywall in the home.
Mobley said it has fewer than a dozen homes where buyers think they have defective drywall.
In Easton Park, the Bradshaws' next-door neighbor, Danny Dekle, is dealing with drywall issues, too.
"I have the black coils in the air conditioner," Dekle said. "My ground wires are black, I'm just positive I have it."
When the builder told the Bradshaws they don't have a problem, the family hired a private inspector, who took additional samples and advised the Bradshaws to move out.
But first, the neighbors tried to shame the builder by taping signs on their garages, informing passers-by of their troubles.
Mobley tested both homes and said the corrosion is indeed caused by sulfur in the drywall. However, the builder insists there's not enough of it to cause a problem.
"In some homes, you have a mixture," Johnson said. "Some rooms are bad, some are not. If we see there's clearly a problem, we'll offer a fix to the homeowner."
Johnson said the homebuilder plans to offer to retest homes in Easton Park and test drywall for other concerned owners.
A representative for the other builder in Easton Park, MI Homes, said that builder does not currently have homeowners with toxic drywall in the neighborhood.
The Chinese-made drywall damaged their air conditioning unit and appliances, and they think it contributed to a multitude of other health problems. But the toenails were the last straw. They moved out weeks later.
"The doctor recommended we move out as soon as possible," Patrick Bradshaw said. "Now, the house is going to sit here, unlivable."
A month later, the kids' toenails were back, and their respiratory problems were gone.
Thousands in Florida have toxic drywall, imported during the housing boom. While there has been no government link between the building product and health problems, the material emits a sulfur gas, which corrodes metal, smells like rotten eggs and makes homes worthless.
But what makes the Bradshaws' story stand out is the timing. They bought their home in Tampa's Easton Park neighborhood in late 2008 — after the drywall scandal hit the news. That's part of the reason they say they chose to buy a new home instead of one that was a few years older.
"I was happy at the time, thinking, 'Oh, they found the Chinese Drywall problem and so now the builders won't be putting it in houses anymore,' " Patrick Bradshaw said. "It never occurred to us builders could still be using it."
Most of the defective drywall was used during the housing boom, from 2004 to 2007, although some homeowners have reported bad drywall installed years earlier or later. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reported seeing some cases as late as 2009, although that's not as likely as during the peak years.
Not all cases are dealt with the same way. Some builders have chosen to replace the caustic drywall, some have done nothing, and others went bankrupt, leaving devastated homeowners to pick up the enormous bills.
Homeowners insurance typically doesn't cover defective drywall and often drops insurance policies when homeowners report the bad drywall.
The federal government recommends replacing the drywall. Some homeowners have sued and won individual cases. Some joined class-action suits and won, but didn't get enough to fix their homes. Others are still fighting in court.
Builders say it costs, on average, about $100,000 to replace the drywall in a typical home. The home has to be stripped down to the studs and rebuilt from the inside.
In the Bradshaws' case, their builder, Mobley Homes, doesn't agree that the drywall needs to be replaced.
The couple has ripped out walls to find the "made in China" stamp to prove their drywall is bad. But Mobley lawyer Len Johnson says that doesn't prove anything.
"Not all Chinese drywall is bad," Johnson said.
He said Mobley will offer homeowners, "a fix" for bad drywall, but only if the builder agrees it's bad. He wouldn't elaborate about what kind of "fix" the builder may offer but said it likely would not need to replace all of the drywall in the home.
Mobley said it has fewer than a dozen homes where buyers think they have defective drywall.
In Easton Park, the Bradshaws' next-door neighbor, Danny Dekle, is dealing with drywall issues, too.
"I have the black coils in the air conditioner," Dekle said. "My ground wires are black, I'm just positive I have it."
When the builder told the Bradshaws they don't have a problem, the family hired a private inspector, who took additional samples and advised the Bradshaws to move out.
But first, the neighbors tried to shame the builder by taping signs on their garages, informing passers-by of their troubles.
Mobley tested both homes and said the corrosion is indeed caused by sulfur in the drywall. However, the builder insists there's not enough of it to cause a problem.
"In some homes, you have a mixture," Johnson said. "Some rooms are bad, some are not. If we see there's clearly a problem, we'll offer a fix to the homeowner."
Johnson said the homebuilder plans to offer to retest homes in Easton Park and test drywall for other concerned owners.
A representative for the other builder in Easton Park, MI Homes, said that builder does not currently have homeowners with toxic drywall in the neighborhood.
Friday, December 2, 2011
Local reaction to Chinese drywall suit
Some right here on the Suncoast.
Dory Josephson and her husband Tony say they lived in fear in their own house. Believing smelly toxic fumes having an impact on their home and their health. "I had to wear a charcoal gas mask just to breath in my home."
All a cause they say from Chinese drywall built into their home in 2006. After their builder went bankrupt they've been fighting for a fix from the manufacturer ever since. "We are still waiting to hear from the lawyers."
The Josephsons say they recently spent more than $100,000 of their retirement funds to rid themselves of the tainted drywall. Many like them simply couldn't wait. Getting the product removed on their own. Now hoping to get some of that money back.
Two other homes on their street have also been completely gutted. Thursday we find contractor Chinese Drywall Inspectors who says he's working on eight homes just in this one Venice neighborhood. "I would have never of seen myself having to tear out a perfectly good house. It seems like a giant waste."
He says the concerns are real. "We are finding a lot of corrosion. The wiring is ate up. Even inside of 220 lines the corrosion has spiraled right up the plastic."
Having to rip out and replace everything. Roach says this job makes 50 for his company just in our area. "There are potentially tens of thousands."
A settlement Wednesday between the the manufacturer Knauf Group who made the Josephson's drywall and 1,500 home builders. Dory says they are not doing an celebrating yet but believe they could be next. "It gives us a little hope that as soon as they are done we are probably next in line. We are hoping that."
Some other local residents have found they have Chinese drywall from a different company owned by the Chinese government. Those homeowners say they are even further behind in getting any sort of solution or compensation.
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