Chinese Drywall Answers

National Gypsum, a U.S. drywall manufacturer, is defending itself against claims that its wallboard has caused corrosion and other problems in homes similar to what has been blamed on Chinese drywall.

Last week, we reported that two Florida families had filed suit against National Gypsum over allegedly defective drywall. George and Brenda Brincku of Alva, and Lydia and Apolinar Garcia of Cape Coral, were listed as lead plaintiffs in the National Gypsum lawsuit. According to the Sarasota Herald Tribune, the Brincku’s say their home contains only domestic drywall, and 90 percent of it was made by National Gypsum. The family has experienced extensive corrosion to their home, and a Florida health official told the Herald Tribune that this past spring that the Brincku’s residence was one of the worst examples of an affected home he had seen. The complaint said tests conducted by the Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT) on drywall from the Brincku home supported the lawsuit’s claims. …

A Chinese drywall lawsuit has been filed by the Louisiana attorney general against manufacturers and home developers. The lawsuit claims the state of Louisiana has and will continue to suffer economic loss because of the defective Chinese drywall.

Defendants in the suit include Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin, one of the major manufacturers of Chinese drywall. Other international and domestic manufacturers, distributors, and importers of toxic Chinese wallboard are also named as defendants. …

One Florida county is seeking a disaster declaration because of Chinese drywall. In seeking the declaration from Gov. Charlie Crist, officials in Broward County said Chinese drywall has impacted some sections of the county as badly as a hurricane might.

A disaster declaration would make federal and state financial assistance to homeowners in Broward County whose homes have been ruined by Chinese drywall. …

The litigation involving Chinese drywall will soon kick into high gear, with the first bellwether trials expected to start this month. More than 3,000 people across the country have filed suit against the manufacturers, suppliers, builders and other entities that played a role in the Chinese drywall crisis.

All of the Chinese drywall lawsuits filed in federal courts have been consolidated in the US District Court in New Orleans under Judge Eldon E. Fallon as part of a multidistrict litigation (MDL). One single class action lawsuit alone filed against Knauf Gips KG, its Chinese affiliate, Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co. Ltd., and 600 other defendants, involves nearly 2100 plaintiffs from Florida, Mississippi and Alabama. …

In an attempt to force the payment of Chinese drywall damage claims, a lawsuit has been filed against 14 insurers for WCI Communities Inc. The lawsuit was filed by a Chinese drywall trust set up by the Florida-based builder after it emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year.

WCI is one of many Florida builders which has acknowledged using Chinese drywall. This past August, Judge Kevin J. Carey approved the firm’s reorganization plan, which allowed WCI to emerge from bankruptcy. Included in the plan was the WCI Communities Chinese Drywall Trust, which the builder funded with $900,000. That money was intended to help offset the cost of litigation against insurers and other companies involved in Chinese drywall disaster. The trust assumed all of the company’s drywall liability, as well as its claims against insurance companies. Nearly 700 homeowners may seek recovery through the WCI Trust. …