Judge Fallon rules insurance policies don’t cover damage in Chinese drywall cases
U.S. District Court Judge Eldon Fallon has dismissed Louisiana homeowners’ claims against 10 insurance companies involved in the defective Chinese drywall case.
Chinese drywall manufacturer Knauf Tianjin agrees to fix 300 homes; A first step
Chinese drywall manufacturer Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin settlement: Knauf will repair up to 300 homes in the states of Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
Habitat for Humanity homes w/ Chinese drywall in New Orleans to be gutted
An estimated 170 homes, built by Habitat for Humanity in New Orleans for Hurricane Katrina victims, contain defective Chinese drywall. These homes will be gutted and rebuilt for each resident.
Lousiana Bill would prevent insurance companies from canceling policies for Chinese drywall
Senator Julie Quinn of Louisiana proposed a bill that was approved today by the La. Senate Insurance Committee, and will now be sent to the full Senate for consideration. The New York Times reported that the bill “would bar property insurers from canceling, refusing to renew, or increasing premiums or deductibles because of Chinese drywall at a property”.
A look at how Judge Fallon arrived at $2.6 million in damages for Virginia plaintiffs
Chinese drywall – Once all the potentially affected components have been removed and the house has been aired out and cleansed, the property is subject to certification. An engineering company must certify the home is habitable.
Upcoming Chinese drywall lawsuits
Hundreds of cases have been consolidated into part of the federal proceedings in New Orleans. An initial trial just wrapped up that involved seven Virginia homeowners. Around the corner, on March 15, a family from Louisiana is scheduled to begin trial against a Chinese owned entity/manufacturer.
Chinese Drywall in Kansas?
A lot has been made of the many Chinese drywall claims in southern states, such as Florida and Louisiana, as well as others on the Eastern coast including Virginia. Even though Kansas has not been getting a lot of attention in this area, health officials in the state are concerned that this could turn into [...]
CPSC Imported Drywall Progress
If you are a homeowner or builder who has been affected by imported drywall from China you are mostly likely already familiar with the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s Drywall Information Center. If however you are not, and are interested in monitoring the progress of the CPSC, check out there website at least once a month for new investigative results and updates.
Louisiana Recovery Authority says $5M not enough to help homeowners
The Louisiana Recovery Authority has done an admirable job trying to keep up with Chinese drywall cases in the state. After all, they set aside $5 million to help to fix this problem. Unfortunately, this is not going to be nearly enough. In fact, they have conceded to the point of saying that the problem is too big to handle at this time.
Multi-district litigation in Louisiana will save money on pretrial discovery, eliminate inconsistency
The United States Judicial Panel has found that the ten actions encompassed common questions of fact, and thus centralization under Section 1407 in the Eastern District of Louisiana is the best option for parties involved. Since each action contains questions regarding drywall allegedly manufactured in China, which subsequently was imported in to the United States, which in turn has allegedly caused the emission of corrosive and noxious gases, the centralization was deemed convenient and cost-saving.