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Filing Deadline Looms for Homeowners' Litigation Over Chinese Drywall
Daily Business Review
November 25, 2009
Homeowners who claim problems with defective drywall have until Dec. 2 to file papers for a national class action against Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin.
Owners who meet that deadline for filing a claim with proof of Knauf drywall will be covered by a lawsuit to be filed Dec. 9 by lead plaintiff counsel Arnold Levin of Levin Fishbein Sedran & Berman of Philadelphia in New Orleans federal court. Knauf has agreed to waive formal service of the complaint under the Hague Convention.
People who file individual suits outside the class action litigation would have to serve complaints on Knauf in compliance with Chinese law and the convention.
About 35,000 Florida homes may contain allegedly defective Chinese drywall, and the state is believed to have about 30 percent of the installations nationally. The suspect drywall used primarily in homes built or remodeled from 2004 to 2008 emits corrosive sulfur gas that has been blamed for air conditioners and appliance damage as well as respiratory problems.
