What if your home is defective? If you live in Grand Prairie, Arlington, Sasche, Plano, De Soto, Azle, Aledo, or anywhere else in Texas and you have problems with your home, you may ask the same question.
The Miami Herald ran an article on May 28, 2010, reporting where a class-action lawsuit had been filed against numerous homebuilders for using Chinese drywall in the construction or remodeling of their homes. The title of this article is, Chinese Drywall Lawsuit Gets Class-action Status. As many as 152 families from three neighborhoods in Homestead, Florida, will be part of the first class-action lawsuit in the country over tainted drywall imported from China.
The drywall is made by Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin, and has been reported on extensively after it was used in repairs following hurricanes along the Gulf Coast region of the United States. These builders will be sued under the Deceptive Trade Practices Act and other causes of action including fraud and breach of contract.
The lawsuit targets homebuilder South Kendall Construction Corp., Palm Isles Holdings, Keys Gate Realty and Banner Supply and includes condo, townhome, and single-family homeowners living in the Palm Isles, Arbor Place, and Augusta Green subdivisions, in and around the Key Gates neighborhood of Homestead, Florida.
Other homeowners are being given the opportunity to join in the lawsuit. Homeowners will receive a notice in the mail asking if they would like to join the lawsuit. This is being done for judicial economy. As if stands now, these lawsuits are being brought on an individual basis as the problems are being encountered by homeowners.
The problem is, some brands of drywall imported from China have been found to emit large amounts of hydrogen sulfide, which corrodes and blackens some metals in homes and can make a house smell like rotten eggs. Many homeowners also believe the drywall is responsible for breathing problems and nosebleeds.
As the article reports, nationwide, about 3,300 homeowners have complained to the Consumer Product Safety Commission about drywall in their homes. Some homeowners have been forced to move to rental homes because the conditions in their own homes are too unbearable. Almost all the homeowners are in homes they can’t sale because of the drywall nor can they get insurance because the normal insurance companies refuse to insure homes that have this Chinese drywall in them.
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