Chinese Drywall Answers

It seems Habitat for Humanity is finally taking steps to address the Chinese drywall issue. According to the Sarasota-Herald Tribune, the non-profit group has established an internal task force to research use of the defective wallboard in homes it built in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina.

The Sarasota-Herald Tribune, in cooperation with ProPublica, recently reported that Habitat built more than 200 homes with Chinese drywall in the hurricane-ravaged city and then ignored homeowners’ complaints about it. Most of the Habitat houses raising concerns are located in the Musicians Village, a development built to help bring musicians back to the city after the hurricane. …

Habitat for Humanity has begun investigating around 50 New Orleans homes it built following Hurricane Katrina amid concerns that they contain potentially defective Chinese drywall. According to a report by ProPublica, the organization has already confirmed that five houses have Chinese drywall and are exhibiting problems associated with the product, such as corroded electrical wiring.

Most of the Habitat houses raising concerns are located in the Musicians Village, a development built to help bring musicians back to the city after the hurricane, ProPublica said. Three homeowners in the Village told reporters from ProPublica and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune of a range of problems, from failed appliances and electronics to corroded metals and jewelry. They also complained of respiratory problems, irritated eyes and other symptoms. At least one homeowner said she had been complaining to Habitat for more than a year about her issues. …

It seems even more companies than previously thought knew about tainted Chinese drywall as early as 2006, but kept quiet about its problems. According to a ProPublica report, these firms didn’t even make their knowledge public in 2008, when homeowners first began complaining about the smelly wallboard.

In a prior investigation, ProPublica had already reported that Florida builder, WCI Communities and Miami-based Banner Supply had known about defective Chinese drywall in 2006. Documents unsealed in a Miami Chinese drywall class action lawsuit included an agreement from that year between Banner and Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin – one of the biggest makers of the drywall – that required Banner to keep quiet about the tainted wallboard. Other unsealed documents revealed that Banner wouldn’t even agree to take the defective drywall from Knauf when the manufacturer offered to give it away, free of charge. …

A Florida jury has awarded plaintiffs in a Chinese drywall lawsuit more than $2 million for damage done to their home. Meanwhile, in New Orleans, two Chinese drywall lawsuits filed against Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co. were dismissed, after the manufacturer settled with plaintiffs.

The Florida verdict was handed down last Friday by a Miami-Dade Circuit Court jury, in what was the first U.S. jury trial to involve defective Chinese drywall. The jury found that Miami-based Banner Supply Co. was 55 percent responsible for damage done to the home of Armin and Lisa Seifart, and awarded them $2.4 million. …

Taishan Gypsum Co. Ltd., one of the companies that imported potentially defective Chinese drywall to the U.S., has finally acknowledged the litigation surrounding the crisis. According to a report in The Virginian-Pilot, Taishan Gypsum has appealed a federal court decision awarding $2.6 million in damages to a group of Virginia homeowners.

Taishan Gypsum, which is owned by the Chinese government, was hit with the verdict in April in a case decided by U.S. District Judge Eldon E. Fallon. The lawsuit was one of the first to be litigated in the Chinese drywall multidistrict litigation now underway in New Orleans. The $2.6 million damage award came after Judge Fallon had issued a default judgment against Taishan Gypsum when it failed to respond to lawsuits. …