Posts Tagged ‘ chinese drywall ’

Chinese Drywall Victim’s Award Like “First to Land on Moon”

June 23rd, 2010. By LucyC

A bit of a landmark lawsuit snuck under that radar this week. A couple from Florida—whom you may have heard of if you are following the Chinese Drywall debacle—Lisa and Armin Seifart—were awarded about $2.5 million by a jury in Miami-Dade County, Florida, in damages and expenses in their defective drywall lawsuit. They had asked for $4 million.

The Seifarts brought their lawsuit against the Miami-based drywall supplier, Banner Supply, and drywall manufacturer, Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin. It turns out Banner had an agreement with Knauf Plasterboard to replace some 2.3 million square feet of defective Chinese drywall with domestically made product. But, smelling an opportunity to save a buck, Banner only replaced the defective drywall in homes where builders and/or installers actually complained about the smell. Yup, that stinks. Pun intended. Had these companies acted with conscience, thousands of people could have been spared the expense, health problems and general stress that has accompanied this mess. Not to mention the courts’ time that will be used to help in the clean-up.

FYI—we are not talking small numbers here. There are some 36,000 homes, according to media reports, affected by the dodgy drywall in Florida alone, and possibly as many as 100,000 nationwide, including California, Alabama, Mississippi, Virginia, and Louisiana. (More problems for the people in the beleaguered Gulf states.)

But let’s get back to the Seifarts for a moment. Two years and $700,000 later—that’s the money they have so far shelled out on repairs to their five bedroom, five bathroom pad—the estimated market value of their house is currently about $200,000.

That’s if they could sell it given the stigma that Chinese drywall carries. Be honest—would you buy a house that had contained sulphur-infected drywall in its original build?

So even though the Seifarts have gutted their house and are rebuilding, and have been awarded $2.5 million to help them recover—they may be stuck.

It also remains to be seen whether or not the Seirfarts actually collect their settlement. Just recently, seven Virginia homeowners were awarded $2.6 million by a federal judge, as settlement of their Chinese Drywall suit, but because the manufacturer—Taishsan Gypsum Co did not take part in the proceedings, the verdict is in limbo, as are the homeowners.

Let’s hope the Seifart’s verdict will make a difference.

Tags: chinese drywall
Posted in Defective Products | 4151No Comments »2010-06-23+16%3A58%3A55LucyC

Week Adjourned: 4.16.10

April 16th, 2010. By LucyC

Top Class Actions

Hi Ho, Hi Ho, it’s off to court we go….

Census Looking for a Few (Really) Good Men? The feds are in hot water this week, facing a lawsuit—the first of its kind—alleging that the Census Bureau screened out job applicants with arrest records, regardless of whether or not the arrest actually led to a criminal conviction.

This has adversely affected “thousands of African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans,” the suit claims, as they have been “rejected for jobs by the US Census Bureau during the federal government’s massive hiring campaign for this year’s census because of systematic discrimination.” Personally, I wouldn’t have thought the government capable of that level of organization, but hey, it’s possible. And, if it’s true, it’s no laughing matter.

According to a related press release, “Government records show that more than 70 million people in the US have been arrested, but more than 35 percent of all arrests nationwide never lead to prosecutions or convictions,” a sobering statistic indeed. No wonder the police are so busy, busy generating paperwork.

Unfortunately, as the lawsuit points out, African Americans, Latinos, and Native Americans are far more likely to have arrest records and convictions than whites, and so Census’s hiring policies discriminate against people of color in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act. Ummm.

Top Settlements

The Chinese Drywall Homes…Homes Barely Livable…We Can Rebuild Them…Ok, so it’s not quite like the $6 Million Dollar Man, but… Remember all those stinky drywall stories? Well, a critical settlement Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Census, chinese drywall, E-Ferol, US Census Bureau
Posted in Week Adjourned | 33581 Comment »Week+Adjourned%3A+4.16.102010-04-16+21%3A40%3A58LucyC

2009 â€“ That’s a Wrap!

December 29th, 2009. By LucyC

partystreamers 2009 â€“ Thats a Wrap! Well, it’s been a busy year for lawyers—and class actions were certainly popular. Employment class actions, comprised of allegations of unpaid overtime and wages and violations of the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) were among the most commonly filed lawsuits. Seems there’s no shortage of companies willing to fiddle the math. Even the biggies—Costco, McDonalds, AT&T, Marriott, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, UPS, Starbucks, Dominos Pizza—even Hooters! And I could go on.

Other hot topics in 2009, included Chinese Drywall.

Who in this part of the world (and presumably China) has not heard of Chinese Drywall by now? Estimates suggest that possibly 100,000 people are affected by this toxic home building product, and on December 9, a federal class action was filed against Knauf Plasterboard Tainjin Co. Ltd. (KPT), one of the primary manufacturers implicated in the debacle.

Overdraft fees were also a topic close to many peoples’ hearts in 2009. Bank Atlantic was one institution hit with a class action for allegedly manipulating the posting dates of consumer debit card and check transactions so they could make more money on customers’ overdraft fees.

And speaking of fees, the issuers of prepaid debit cards also had their toes to the fire this year, among them Green Dot Visa for allegedly charging high fees on their ‘prepaid debit cards.’

Unfortunately, asbestos mesothelioma lawsuits—individual lawsuits not class actions—remained prominent this year. As more retirees are only now being diagnosed with the asbestos-related Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Asbestos, Asbestos Mesothelioma, chinese drywall, Class Action, Drugs, Employment, Settlement
Posted in Class Action, Settlement | 2275No Comments »2009-12-29+16%3A05%3A14LucyC

Got Knauf Defective Drywall? Get Filing

November 26th, 2009. By AbiK

drywallblackpipe1 Got Knauf Defective Drywall? Get Filing It’s Thanksgiving, I know. But I also know it’s the type of morning when some of you are trolling the internet getting caught up on all the things you’ve missed over the past week or so. Here’s one you don’t want to miss if you’re dealing with Chinese drywall with “Knauf” stamped on it:

Homeowners who claim problems with defective drywall have until Dec. 2 to file papers for a national class action against Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin.

If you are a homeowner who’s been affected by Knauf defective drywall—and have proof that you have Knauf defective drywall in your home—and you meet the December 2nd deadline for filing a claim, you will be covered in the lawsuit to be filed December 9th.

All others affected by the Chinese drywall debacle are still urged to sumbit a claim—however, this deadline is specifically for those who have Knauf defective drywall in their homes.

Tags: chinese drywall, Knauf
Posted in Defective Products | 2013No Comments »2009-11-26+15%3A15%3A23AbiK

Drywall Victim Insurance Protection Act: Prayer in H*ll?

November 18th, 2009. By AbiK

drywallblackpipe Drywall Victim Insurance Protection Act: Prayer in H*ll? While we’re waiting on the Chinese drywall trials to get going in 2010, there’s no shortage of activity on the subject. Just yesterday, a federal bill was filed called the Drywall Victim Insurance Protection Act (sponsored by Rep. Charlie Melancon, D-La). Now, if you’re sitting in a home sniffing the sulfuric fumes, that might sound like good news, right? A bill that would prohibit insurers from canceling or altering coverage of homes that contain Chinese drywall sounds like a nice safety net for folks wondering if they’re about to be dropped from their homeowners’ policies. Ah, but there’s a rub…

The issue is that the insurance industry isn’t regulated at the federal level; it’s regulated at the state level. So, as quoted at BradentonHerald.com (11/18/09), Michael Barry, a spokesman for the Insurance Information Institute, stated the proposed bill “would have little or no effect” if passed.

Clearly that’s not what homeowners want to hear.

So why submit a federal bill that will, in effect, be meaningless?

Well, take the case of Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. They recently felt the effects of some bad press when they told a Colorado couple with a home in Punta Gorda (with, of course, Chinese drywall) that they weren’t renewing their policy. The news hit the media airwaves bigtime and wouldn’t you know it, Citizens Property reversed the decision to not renew. Translation: the more press, the more results—or so the theory would go.

And clearly that must be the thinking shared by U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, D-Fl, who was quoted via a spokesman, Bryan Gulley, in the BradentonHerald.com article as stating, “While homeowner insurance largely is governed by state laws, it doesn’t hurt to press wherever possible, and Nelson certainly supports Rep. Melancon’s effort.”

Tags: chinese drywall
Posted in Defective Products | 1912No Comments »2009-11-18+17%3A58%3A54AbiK