According to WinkNews, Cape Coral city officals are waiving building permit fees that are associated with repairing homes with defective chinese drywall which could potentially save homeowners hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees. 

Currently they are estimating that there are about 2,000 homes that could have been built with Chinese drywall.  The city hopes that this will help prevent people from walking away from their homes.

The waivers apply to:

• Homes that were built from January 2003 through December 2010
• The homeowner must be the original owner of the home

“We can only deal with the people who are the first time owners and never attempted to walk away or give up on their home,” according to Cape Councilmen Chulakes-Leetz

Defective Chinese drywall; disclosure, assessed value, real estate tax exemption

“Requires licensees engaged by sellers and buyers, and landlords who have actual knowledge of defective Chinese drywall in a dwelling unit, to disclose that information to the prospective tenant or buyer. If a tenant is not provided disclosure within 60 days of discovery of defective drywall he may terminate the lease. The bill also provides, upon confirmation by a building official that defective Chinese drywall is present, that the commissioner or other assessing official may reassess the property accordingly. Local governments may also designate the property as a rehabilitation district for purposes of granting the owner a partial real estate tax exemption. This bill is a recommendation of the Housing Commission.”

Virginia’s Legislative Information System: HB 1610 Defective Chinese drywall; disclosure of information, real estate tax exemption.

In 2009 Dragas Management Corp., a Hampton Roads builder, faced threats by angry homeowners in Chesapeake and Virginia Beach whose homes were damaged by Chinese drywall.  Some hired attorneys, while others wrote their own demand letters, urging the builder to fix their homes or buy them back.

Dragas first attempted to notify it’s two insurance companies, but both denied coverage. 

So in good faith, Dragas signed remediation agreements with the homeowners to replace the drywall, damaged components, and to compensate them for relocation expenses. The agreement also stated that if the homeowner accepted the contract, they were to drop all property damage claims against the builder.

Dragas has been battling with their insurance companies over coverage ever since. Their first attempt to for a claim for coverage was dismissed, however they were allowed to refile the claim with more detail. After refiling they were granted permission for the case to move forward.

However, a summary judgment by the Norfolk U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Beach Smith  was based on the following fact: “What the court finds decisive at this juncture in this case is that DMC [Dragas Management Corp.] had no ‘legal obligation’ to incur remediation costs ‘as damages,’ and this coverage is not available under any of the policies.”

The insurance companies argued that Dragas did not meet the requirements for coverage because Dragas “was not legally obligated to pay remediation costs as damages as is required to trigger coverage.” Instead coverage is meant to provide businesses against losses as a result of a legal liability and provides relief in the form of a legal defense to a lawsuit.

Sources:

1. No CGL Coverage for Contractor’s Repairs by Virginia Lawyers Weeklys 
2. Builders Mutual Ins. Co. v. Dragas Mgmt. Corp. et al., 2:09-cv-185

After 2 years, more than 170 Hampton Roads homeowners are still fighting the Chinese drywall battle.  According to the Virginian-Pilot, since many have sold their homes, lost them to foreclosure or bankruptcy.  Many who have sold their homes were only able to receive less than half of what they paid.

Virginia Beach homeowner, Colleen Nguyen, whose waterfront home resides in Little Neck, was forced to buy a second home and persuade the lender to offer forbearance on mortgage payments for the contaminated Chinese drywall home.  Their property was put on the market for $650,000, which was a little more than half of what it cost her. Since they’ve received an offer for $400,000 which they plan to accept.

In 2005, one of Norfolk’s construction suppliers imported more than 150,000 sheets of the contaminated Chinese drywall that was used to build homes in Hampton Roads.

Builder The Dragas Co., some of whose homes were built with the Chinese drywall, has paid to fix more than 70 homes.

Unlike the Chinese subsidiary Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co. Ltd who has agreed to a pilot program to repair 300 homes in other states, most Virginia homeowners have Taishan Gypsum Co. manufactured drywall who claims that U.S. courts do not have jurisdiction over the matter.

About a year ago Federal Judge Eldon Fallon in New Orleans awarded 7 Virginia homeowners $2.6 million, which Taishan has since appealed.

Since Attorneys have been battling insurance policy issues.

In May, Judge Mark S. Davis ruled that a commercial insurance policy from Builders Mutual Insurance Co. was too ambiguous to determine pollution exclusions.  Is another ruling, a Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. policy was said to in fact bar the coverage for drywall.

“That Judge Davis declined to find our way on the pollution exclusion doesn’t end any of these claims,” said Richard Serpe, a Norfolk, Virginia attorney who represents most of the Hampton Roads  homeowners.

“But it went from a process where we had hoped for a clear consensus that, yes, there’s coverage, to a situation much more complicated,” he said. “We end up with a series of pigeonholes for some cases that will be covered and others that will not.”

View the FULL Virginian Pilot Article: Hampton Roads homeowners stuck in drywall limbo

According to WSVN.com, Eleanor Aguilar was able to move back into her townhome last Friday after the Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin remediation was complete.  She was forced out of her home nearly two months ago due to the infestation of toxic Chinese drywall in her Lauderhill, Florida townhome.  Aguliar being part of the Chinese drywall lawsuit was chosen as one of the 300 homes to be part of the Knauf remediation pilot program.

The Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin pilot program will determine if it is more practical for the company to repair the Chinese drywall homes, or to give homeowners a pay-out.

According to a Knauf spokesperson, currently there are 30 homes in remediation and over 100 lined up to be repaired.

Earlier this month a Lauderhill, FL Chinese drywall townhome was the first in the Knauf pilot program to begin remediation.  Currently Louisiana Chinese drywall homes selected to participate in the program will soon begin the same remediation.

According to Fox 8 News in Baton Rouge, approximately 100 homes in Louisiana will take part in the Knauf pilot remediation program.  This will include Chinese drywall homes in the communities of St. Tammany, Ascension, East Baton Rouge, and New Orleans.

The entire program is expected to remediate around 300 homes in the states of Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida.

These homes will be stripped down to the studs, and all building materials affected will also be removed.  Knauf will pay for the repairs, for temporary housing, and moving expenses.

According to an article in SunSentinal.com, the first home in the Chinese drywall pilot program has begun its scheduled remediation today.

Eleanor Aguilar found out almost 2.5 years ago that her home was made with toxic Chinese drywall manufactured by Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin. Her three story townhouse in Lauderhill, Florida will now be the first of an estimated 300 to be repaired under the Chinese drywall pilot program.

There are around 30 homes in the Broward and Palm Beach counties that are expected to be added to the program. The pilot program was set to repair about 300 homes in Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana.

These homes are essentially being stripped down to the studs, and all building materials affected by the toxic Chinese drywall will be removed and replaced. Knauf will pay for the repairs, pay for temporary housing and, give cash settlements of $8.50 per square foot for moving expenses.

Some builders in Florida, such as Sunrise-based GL Homes, have agreed to fix these homes at no cost, while some homeowners have decided to do the repairs themselves, according to the Sun-Sentinel.

Who Qualifies for the Program? You must be part of the nationwide Chinese drywall class action lawsuit, and a majority of the home must have been manufactured by Knauf.

Eleanor Aguilar and her family should be back in their home by Mother’s Day.

ATTENTION ALL VIRGINIA CHINESE DRYWALL VICTIMS:

DEADLINES APPROACHING VERY SOON FOR SEEKING LEGAL REPRESENTATION:

It has been almost five years since Venture Supply Imported toxic drywall from China.  Virginia law requires that your claims for damage to property be filed BEFORE the expiration of five years.

If you have not sought legal representation to file a lawsuit or other claim for you in Virginia, it is critical that you act now to protect your rights.

If you would like more information contact us:

Law Offices of Richard Serpe, PC
Local: 757-233-0009
Toll Free: 877-5445323

www.ChineseDrywallClaims.com

With what seems like no financial help from state or federal governments, or the insurance companies, two Hampton Roads families have decided to fix their Chinese drywall homes themselves.

According to a DailyPress.com article, Patrick Ryan of Carrollton, Virginia and Bill Ryan (no relation), of Hampton, are in the process of fixing their damaged homes alone. With the help of family and friends, both families said they realized that not everyone can afford to take this route themselves.

Patrick Ryan and his family, wife Jennifer and their 2 children, moved into their home in the Eagle Harbor neighborhood near the James River in 2006 to find out later in 2009 that 70% of the drywall installed in their home was the toxic Chinese drywall.

After purchasing the home for around $450,000, their options were limited and they could not afford to walk away from the home. So in May of 2010, Patrick Ryan decided to fix his home himself.  The Ryan’s feared for the health of their two young children, as well as themselves, so his wife and children moved in with an Aunt in York County, while Patrick Ryan moved into his Brother’s attic.

Every day, after leaving his job at Northrop Grumman in Newport News, Virginia, Patrick Ryan would spend hours each night working on his home. On the weekends he would work 12 hour shifts with his brother, wife, and sometimes friends ripping out drywall, vents, plumbing, and electrical wires.

The family spent nearly $50,000 on materials. Patrick believes that if they were to hire contractors, they would have spent nearly $150,000 to redo the home. They did hire someone to hang the new drywall, install carpets, and floors, but everything else was done by him and his family.

In November of 2010 the home was finally finished, and the family was able to move back in.

Bill Ryan of Hampton, a 42 year old Army retiree, said that living in their home, which is believed to be made up of at least 15% toxic Chinese drywall, was not an option. Especially with his wife and seven month old baby being potentially harmed by the corrosive gases in the air.

Bill Ryan now works on the weekends fixing his home, and believes that he is halfway finished.  He told the DailyPress that if the home contained more than 50% of the toxic Chinese drywall he would have walked away from it. With only 15% of the home containing the defective drywall, he plans to spend about $15,000 fixing the home, after which he plans to sell it.

There are currently over 300 homes in Virginia, and thousands more across the country whose homes are contaminated with toxic Chinese drywall.

U.S. District Court Judge Eldon Fallon has dismissed Louisiana homeowners’ claims against 10 insurance companies involved in the defective Chinese drywall case, according to the Sarasota Herald Tribune. 

Insurance companies continue to argue that numerous exclusions in the policies indicate that losses related to Chinese drywall are not covered.

Judge Fallon has issued what seems to be a split decision in his ruling favoring homeowners on some exclusions and insurance companies on others.

Although Judge Fallon ruled that insurance policies don’t cover damage to homes or personal property, he has ruled that Chinese drywall does cause a physical loss to a home, according to NOLA.com.  The reason being Chinese drywall corrodes wiring and electronics.

Judge Fallon did rule that Chinese drywall is a faulty material, and is excluded from coverage on insurance policies.  He also determined that the tainted drywall prompts the corrosion exclusion in the policies since corrosion is the main damage caused by the drywall.

While Judge Fallon did side with homeowners on some of the exclusions insurance companies tried to use to get out of paying damages, they only needed one condition in their favor to have the cases dismissed. 

View the Order & Reasons for the insurance ruling