CDC Leads Imported Drywall Complaint Investigation
In order to satisfy building demands within recent years, drywall was imported from China and installed at various construction projects. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advise that the Consumer Product Safety Commission has received nearly 2,000 reports from "residents in 30 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico who believe their health symptoms or the corrosion of certain metal components in their homes are related to the presence of drywall produced in China" while the majority of the complaints emanate from Florida, Louisiana, and Virginia. The complaints seem to relate to drywall that was installed after 2003, with a majority of the complaints related to construction work done in 2006 and 2007.
The CDC is leading the federal investigation into the complaints related to drywall. Details concerning the drywall matter can be found at
http://www.cdc.gov/Features/DrywallNews. The CDC website provides, among other things, a fact sheet for homeowners to evaluate whether drywall in their homes may be a source of concern. The CDC states that existence of the following factors may indicate that further investigation related to drywall is warranted: corrosion of plumbing fixtures, corrosion of electrical fixtures, a sulfur odor, and if a stamp is found on drywall, that indicates it has been made in China.
Numerous lawsuits have been filed that relate to alleged damages associated with imported drywall. In fact, the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation grouped such lawsuits in an MDL entitled "Chinese-Manufactured Drywall Products Liability Litigation" under MDL No. 2047. The cases are consolidated for administrative purposes in the Eastern District of Louisiana. Due to the difficulty in litigating a case against a foreign entity and possibly perfecting a judgment against a foreign entity, it should be expected that more defendants located in the United States could be named in forthcoming suits.
James J.A. Mulhall
Chase Tower - Sixth Floor
229 West Main Street
Clarksburg, WV 26301
304.624.8164
james.mulhall@steptoe-johnson.com
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