By The Associated Press

A federal judge on Thursday approved five class-action settlements that call for a Chinese drywall manufacturer and others to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to repair homes damaged by the product, attorneys for thousands of Gulf Coast and Florida property owners said.

Miami attorney Ervin Gonzalez, who has represented Chinese drywall clients since 2008, including 10 on the Treasure Coast and 400 statewide, helped negotiate the settlements as a member of the national class action plaintiff steering committee.

U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon in New Orleans held a hearing in November to help him gauge the fairness of five separate but related settlement agreements between plaintiffs’ lawyers and companies that made, supplied or installed the defective Chinese drywall.

Coral Gables attorney C. David Durkee, who represents 50 Treasure Coast clients with Chinese drywall, said up to 5,000 homeowners statewide might participate in the settlement.

“It’s a very significant step in the process because … people will get hammer to nail hopefully in the next few months or at least by the end of this year,” Durkee said Thursday. “And these folks can get on with their lives.”

To qualify for settlement funds, the homeowner seeking a claim must still own the home and it can’t be subject to foreclosure.

The defective product was used in the construction of 12,000 to 20,000 homes and businesses, mainly in the South, after a series of destructive hurricanes in 2005 and before the housing bubble burst. The problems it has caused range from a foul odor to corrosion of pipes and wiring.

Fallon’s order certified settlements for Interior/Exterior Building Supply, LP; Banner; L&W Supply Corp.; Knauf and Global participating builders, suppliers and installers. The settlements are estimated to be in excess of $1 billion, most of which will be paid by Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co.

Gonzalez said a majority of clients with toxic drywall will benefit from the settlementsbecause Knauf supplied most of the bad drywall. Fallon, who presides over more than 10,000 claims involving Chinese drywall, refused in September to dismiss property owners’ claims against Taishan Gypsum Co. Ltd.

Taishan, which argues that U.S. courts don’t have jurisdiction over claims against it, appealed Fallon’s ruling.

Knauf meanwhile, agreed to create an uncapped fund to pay for repairing roughly 5,200 properties, mostly in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. A separate fund capped at $30 million will pay for other types of losses, including those by people who blame drywall for health problems.

Staff reporter Melissa E. Holsman contributed to this report

Attorneys Russ Herman, court-appointed liaison counsel, and Arnold Levin, court-appointed lead counsel, in the Chinese Drywall Federal litigation, MDL 2047, announced yesterday that a Federal judge has issued an order approving five (5) class action settlements with manufacturers, builders, suppliers and installers of Chinese drywall and their various insurers.

It is estimated that between 12,000 – 20,000 homes and businesses have been built using the defective drywall between 2005 and 2008, primarily in Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas and Virginia.  The defective drywall has been associated with unpleasant and potentially harmful odors and fumes that corrode metals, including air conditioning units, fixtures and other appliances.

These settlements are estimated to be in excess of $1 billion, though the total value of which will depend primarily on the actual costs of remediation, the funding for which is uncapped.  The settlements will benefit more than 10,000 property owners whose homes and properties have been damaged by defective Chinese drywall.

A fairness hearing on this settlement took place November 13, 2012. The court’s order certified the Interior / Exterior Building Supply, LP, settlement; the Banner settlement; the L&W Supply Corporation settlement; the Knauf settlement; and the Global participating builders, suppliers and installers settlement.

The balance of the case will continue as the Federal Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals determines whether another Chinese manufacturer and supplier of defective drywall, Taishan entities (including Taishan Gypsum Co. Ltd. and Taian Taishan Plasterboard Co. Ltd.), which is owned and operated by the People’s Republic of China, may also be held liable for damage to an additional 4,000 – 5,000 properties in the future.

Lead counsel Arnold Levin said he is “thrilled that the court has issued an order and is hopeful that homeowners will now be able to get their homes remediated and put their lives back together.”

NOTE:

• Click here to view Honorable Eldon E. Fallon’s Chinese-Manufactured Drywall Products Liability Litigation.
• Click here to view the Final Approval Order: Chinese-Manufactured Drywall Products Liability Litigation.

NEW ORLEANS – A federal judge on Thursday approved five class-action settlements that call for a Chinese drywall manufacturer and others to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to repair homes damaged by the product, attorneys for thousands of Gulf Coast property owners said.

U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon in New Orleans held a hearing in November to help him gauge the fairness of five separate but related settlement agreements between plaintiffs’ lawyers and companies that made, supplied or installed the defective Chinese drywall.

The product was used in the construction of 12,000 to 20,000 homes and businesses, mainly in the South, after a series of destructive hurricanes in 2005 and before the housing bubble burst. The problems it has caused range from a foul odor to corrosion of pipes and wiring.

Fallon’s order certified settlements for Interior/Exterior Building Supply, LP; Banner; L&W Supply Corp.; Knauf and Global participating builders, suppliers and installers.

After Fallon’s ruling, plaintiffs’ attorney Arnold Levin said he was “thrilled that the court has issued an order and is hopeful that homeowners will now be able to get their homes remediated and put their lives back together.”

Levin said the settlements will benefit more than 10,000 property owners and are estimated to be in excess of $1 billion, most of which will be paid by Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co.

Knauf agreed to create an uncapped fund to pay for repairing roughly 5,200 properties, mostly in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. A separate fund capped at $30 million will pay for other types of losses, including those by people who blame drywall for health problems.

Attorneys’ fees and costs paid by Knauf are capped at $160 million and will not be deducted from homeowners’ shares of the settlement money.

A total of about 300 plaintiffs have opted out of the five settlements, according to Levin.

Fallon, who presides over more than 10,000 claims involving Chinese drywall, refused in September to dismiss property owners’ claims against a different Chinese drywall maker, Taishan Gypsum Co. Ltd.

Taishan, which argues that U.S. courts don’t have jurisdiction over claims against it, appealed Fallon’s ruling.

NOTE:

• Click here to view Honorable Eldon E. Fallon’s Chinese-Manufactured Drywall Products Liability Litigation.
• Click here to view the Final Approval Order: Chinese-Manufactured Drywall Products Liability Litigation.

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Aug. 12 (UPI) — Chinese drywall cases consolidated in a Florida county may move forward without waiting for rulings in drywall cases filed in federal courts, a judge ruled.

Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Glenn Kelley’s decision rejected arguments by builder Centerline Homes Inc. of Coral Springs, Fla., and Miami drywall distributor Banner Supply Co. that the cases should be stayed until federal cases are resolved.

More than 2,100 U.S. homeowners have filed federal suits claiming their homes were damaged or ruined by defective drywall that gives off noxious odors and chemicals that can corrode wiring, plumbing and heating equipment.

Kelley’s ruling is “really a huge win, because now … we’re able to begin going forward on Chinese drywall cases in Palm Beach County,” David Durkee, plaintiff’s liaison council for the consolidated cases, told The Palm Beach Post. “Now we can resolve the cases or have our day in court.”

Seventy-four cases alleging defective drywall — some for Chinese-made drywall and others alleging similar problems with U.S. wallboard — are pending in Palm Beach County Circuit Court.

No trial date is set, but Durkee said he hoped to go to trial by early next year.

The drywall in question is linked to respiratory and electrical problems in thousands of new homes, mostly in Florida and Louisiana. Consumer advocates argue high levels of hydrogen sulfide in the drywall can create health risks as well as corrode electrical wires.

The drywall was installed in homes across the South for about eight years during the housing boom that began in 2000. At that time, U.S.-made drywall was limited in supply and Chinese materials were cheap. Construction surged after hurricanes devastated many parts of the Gulf Coast.

The U.S. government April 2 instructed families with allegedly tainted drywall to rid their homes of the material and replace electrical wiring, gas pipes and sprinkler systems.

Homeowners would have to front the cost, which builders estimate at more than $100,000 per home.

PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla.- – A judge ruled Wednesday that all homeowners in Palm Beach County plagued with Chinese drywall will be able to go to trial to try to receive financial compensation.

“It’s like a nightmare,” homeowner Barbara Tutin told WPBF 25 News after Wednesday’s ruling. “It’s been a nightmare, and today, finally, I have some hope that there’s some light, you know at the end.”

For the past nine years, Tutin has been a victim of the hazards of Chinese drywall.

Tutin showed WPBF 25 News the corroded wires, ruined appliances and anything silver tarnished by the Chinese drywall.

 She’s spent thousands of dollars replacing them, and Tutin is just one of thousands of homeowners in the state fighting developers, builders and contractors to get what’s owed to her.

 ”I’m not looking to make anything extra. I just want the house that I thought I bought. I want that house.”

 Attorney David Durkee has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Tutins to get them financial compensation — enough money to gut their home and permanently be rid of the toxic material.

 ”Justice delayed in these cases is truly justice denied,” Durkee said. “Every day these folks live in these toxic homes, they’re having effects.”

 After a yearlong battle, a judge decided that the Tutins and other drywall victims in Palm Beach County will be able to get their day in court. The judge ruled that federally filed lawsuits against Chinese drywall manufacturers cannot interfere with cases on the state level.

 ”We’ve only sued these Florida corporations here in Florida and because of that we’re allowed to go to trial against these Florida corporations that are responsible for this damage they’ve caused,” Durkee said.

 Durkee said he hopes to set a trial date for the end of this year or early next year.

By Katie LaGrone

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla – Like so many transplants from the Northeast, Barry & Barbara Tutin built their Delray Beach home to retire in.

But rest and relaxation has been clouded by anger and frustration.

The Bostonians believe their home was built with defective Chinese drywall. Coils from the air conditioner have been replaced five times since they moved in 9 years ago. Barbara’s silver jewelry turned black, so did her favorite sterling silver candlesticks. The copper wire underneath her sink– is less bronze and more black.

“It’s scary. I can get angry, fearful, upset,” she said.

Last year, the Tutins joined a federal lawsuit against the builder, Centerline Homes. They knew their case could take years to go through the federal courts.

But years may now be just months away. On Wednesday, Circuit Court Judge Glenn Kelley gave the green light to allow Palm Beach County homeowners, who believe their homes are contaminated with the sulfur-emitting material, to get their cases heard in Palm Beach County.

The move will expedite the process and bring justice to homeowners sooner rather than later, says the Tutin’s attorney, David Durkee.

“These folks are living in a toxic environment. Their prospective property is being damaged on a daily basis. Some are moving out of their homes, some are losing their homes. Every day that goes by,damage is done,” he said.

The ruling will impact at least 74 cases which are now pending.

“I’m ready I want this settled once and for all, enough is enough,” said Tutin.

Judge Joseph P. Farina concluded the $6.6 million fund established for the owners was reasonable, given the fact “the settling parties have limited assets and collectibility of those funds remains an open question.”

To view the full article, please click the link provided here.

By Allison Ross

WEST PALM BEACH — Palm Beach County homeowners affected by tainted drywall are one step closer to making their case on their home turf.

In an order Wednesday, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Glenn Kelley ruled that defective drywall cases consolidated in Palm Beach County can move forward without waiting on drywall cases in federal court.

Some defendants in cases filed in Palm Beach County – including builder Centerline Homes and drywall distributor Banner Supply – had asked that the cases be stayed.

“It’s really a huge win, because now … we’re able to begin going forward on Chinese drywall cases in Palm Beach County,” said David Durkee, plaintiff’s liaison council for the consolidated cases. “Now we can resolve the cases or have our day in court.”

More than 70 defective drywall cases – some for Chinese-made drywall, and some alleging similar problems with American wallboard – are pending in Palm Beach County Circuit Court.

Barbara Tutin, who lives in the Vizcaya development west of Delray Beach, is one of the plaintiffs in those cases.

“I’m just very, very excited about this ruling,” Tutin said. “I’m hoping there’s an end to this coming soon, that we’ll be able to go to trial soon and get my house fixed.”

Tutin, who is still living in a house that she says was built with defective wallboard, says she constantly worries about her health and about when her appliances and air conditioner might fail again.

“The only thing keeping me going is that a resolution will come soon,” she said.

Some drywall installed between 2000 and 2008 has been found to give off sulfuric gases linked to metal corrosion in homes and blamed for health problems.

No trial date has been set, but Durkee has said he hopes to go to trial late this year or early next year.

The next status conference on the consolidated drywall cases is planned for Aug. 27.

To view the full article, please click the link provided here.