LAWSUITS NEWS & LEGAL INFORMATION
Seven Virginia Families Awarded $2.6 Million in Chinese Drywall Case
This is a settlement for the Chinese Drywall lawsuit.
New Orleans, LA: A federal judge in Louisiana has ruled that a Chinese Drywall manufacturer must compensate American homeowners who used its product and are now forced to tear it out because it emits noxious fumes and corrodes household wiring and plumbing.
In the critical first U.S. trial decision over faulty Chinese drywall, US District Court Judge Eldon Fallon, of the Eastern District of Louisiana ordered Taishan Gypsum Company, Ltd., to pay seven Virginia families a total of $2,609,129.99 in remediation damages. Taishan is headquartered in Tai'an, China, about 250 miles south of Beijing.
In the drywall case decided on April 8, Judge Fallon heard plaintiffs describe a range of calamities caused by the Taishan drywall, including its unpleasant acrid smell, corrosion of electric wires and appliances, and physical symptoms such as difficulty breathing, headaches, rashes and nosebleeds caused by the gases released. In addition, several homeowners paid for multiple tests in their homes, and later for temporary places to live when the drywall fumes made their homes uninhabitable. Some families lived with the persistent fear of fire breaking out, due to the corrosion of metal surfaces by sulfur gases from the leeching gypsum. As an added insult, any attempt to remove the offending drywall produced further damage or destroyed household fixtures and furnishings, including kitchen cabinets, countertops, carpet, wall trim, even doorknobs.
Chinese-made drywall, Judge Fallon wrote in his decision, has significantly higher levels of hydrogen sulfide, carbonyl sulfide, and carbon disulfide – all known irritants to humans – than "typical, benign drywall." Sulfur gases also release strong odors and are known to corrode various metals.
Judge Fallon concluded, "The Court finds that scientific, economic, and practicality concerns dictate that the proper remediation... is to remove 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."
Published on Apr-12-10
In the critical first U.S. trial decision over faulty Chinese drywall, US District Court Judge Eldon Fallon, of the Eastern District of Louisiana ordered Taishan Gypsum Company, Ltd., to pay seven Virginia families a total of $2,609,129.99 in remediation damages. Taishan is headquartered in Tai'an, China, about 250 miles south of Beijing.
In the drywall case decided on April 8, Judge Fallon heard plaintiffs describe a range of calamities caused by the Taishan drywall, including its unpleasant acrid smell, corrosion of electric wires and appliances, and physical symptoms such as difficulty breathing, headaches, rashes and nosebleeds caused by the gases released. In addition, several homeowners paid for multiple tests in their homes, and later for temporary places to live when the drywall fumes made their homes uninhabitable. Some families lived with the persistent fear of fire breaking out, due to the corrosion of metal surfaces by sulfur gases from the leeching gypsum. As an added insult, any attempt to remove the offending drywall produced further damage or destroyed household fixtures and furnishings, including kitchen cabinets, countertops, carpet, wall trim, even doorknobs.
Chinese-made drywall, Judge Fallon wrote in his decision, has significantly higher levels of hydrogen sulfide, carbonyl sulfide, and carbon disulfide – all known irritants to humans – than "typical, benign drywall." Sulfur gases also release strong odors and are known to corrode various metals.
Judge Fallon concluded, "The Court finds that scientific, economic, and practicality concerns dictate that the proper remediation... is to remove 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."
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