MyFloridaCode.com

If you are interested or involved with the Chinese Drywall Issues - this
is an important post forwarded from Mr. Tim Atkinsion. If you are not
involved, just delete.

 

Major deadline in suit on drywall

 

By Aaron Kessler

November 5, 2009

 

Homeowners in Florida and across the country whose homes were built with
contaminated Chinese drywall manufactured by Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin
Co. Ltd. will have a serious decision to make -- and quickly.

 

One of the biggest challenges for those attempting to sue Knauf Tianjin
and other Chinese drywall makers has been the enormous burden of
formally serving the company with their lawsuits in China. Doing so is
needed to proceed with a case.

 

But a deal struck this week by the company and attorneys representing
homeowners in the multidistrict litigation being heard in New Orleans
means the drywall maker has temporarily agreed to waive those laborious
requirements.

 

The catch: Homeowners have to sign up by Dec. 2 if they want to be
included.

 

That is because an omnibus class-action-style complaint is being
drafted, and it is only that complaint that Knauf Tianjin has agreed to
accept.

 

"It's a one-time opportunity, and it gives the parties who wish to join
in that complaint an opportunity to have service accepted, rather than
to have to go through the Hague convention, which as we know it is
costly and time-consuming," said Judge Eldon E. Fallon, who is
overseeing the litigation, during a conference call on Wednesday. Fallon
gave his blessing to the deal as a way to prevent further delays.

 

Kerry Miller, the liaison counsel for the defendants and who also
represents Knauf, said the company had no plans to make such an offer
again: "It is my client's intention to accept service only one time."

 

The deadline leaves only weeks for homeowners on the fence to make up
their minds. While many already have filed suits, many others have not,
preferring to take a wait-and-see approach. Meanwhile, some are just
realizing they have a problem, with more homes being discovered every
week.

 

Just last month, for example, two homes with Knauf Tianjin drywall were
discovered in local home builder Lee Wetherington's Willow Chase
development in Nokomis.

 

Scott Weinstein, a Fort Myers attorney who sits on the Plaintiff's
Steering Committee, said time is of the essence.

 

"It's imperative for any consumer who knows or believes that he or she
has Knauf Tianjin drywall to get into the system now," Weinstein said.

 

"They need to document the presence of the drywall now, so they can meet
the deadline."

 

Darren Inverso, who represents Lakewood Ranch homeowner Kristin
Culliton, said she and other clients who have Knauf Tianjin drywall will
be joining the omnibus complaint.

 

Despite the publicity about Chinese drywall, not all homeowners even
know about it, and the upcoming season may bring in a crop of snowbirds
returning to their homes for the first time since learning of the issue.

 

For now, though, the omnibus complaint may be the best chance for
affected owners to move forward. The consolidated complaint will
resemble a class-action in style, but will not at this point involve a
certified class, Weinstein said. Instead, it will include each
individual homeowner with Knauf Tianjin.

 

"We intend to answer each of these claimants as individuals," he said.
"We realize this is not one of these common cases where the loss is five
dollars or two dollars."

 

Meanwhile, in Washington on Wednesday a bipartisan group of six U.S.
senators from Florida, Louisiana and Virginia introduced a resolution
calling on lenders to offer affected homeowners a temporary freeze on
their mortgage payments.

 

The proposal was sponsored by both Florida Senators, Bill Nelson and
George LeMieux, marking the first public action by LeMieux on the issue
since he took office earlier this year. While Nelson has largely led the
charge, LeMieux's predecessor, Mel Martinez, had essentially been absent
from the debate prior to his retirement.

 

http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20091105/ARTICLE/911051056/2107/BUS
INESS?Title=Major-deadline-in-suit-on-drywall 

 

 

R.J.Koning - Director

Contractors Institute

rjkoning at contractorsinstitute.com
<mailto:rjkoning at contractorsinstitute.com> 

8301 Joliet Street

Hudson, Fl 34667

727-863-5147

 

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