7 Homeowners Awarded $2.6M in Chinese Drywall Suit
In a ruling that is expected to provide guidance for determining potential damages in more than 2,000 similar federal lawsuits filed by other homeowners, a federal judge in New Orleans today awarded $2.6 million to seven homeowners who alleged that their houses were damaged by the installation of drywall manufactured by a Chinese company.
U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon, who is overseeing such litigation throughout the country, held that Taishan Gypsum Co. must cover the cost of removing “all drywall in their homes, all items which have suffered corrosion as a result of the Chinese drywall and all items which will be materially damaged in the process of removal,” reports Bloomberg.
Last week, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recommended that houses containing problem drywall be gutted and that not only the drywall but electrical wiring, gas pipes and sprinkler systems, among other materials, be removed. A link to the federal agencies’ report is provided in an article about the drywall issue in the Problem Solver blog of the Chicago Tribune.
Problem drywall manufactured in China has been blamed for noxious orders and corrosion of nearby metal allegedly due to hazardous materials it may contain.
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