Insurance Dispute Lawyer Blog

A positive note for New Orleans residents with Chinese drywall hoping to develop and rebuild in the wake of the toxic wallboard installed in their homes: local officials continue to reduce the financial burden of recovery. Local officials in Jefferson Parish are doing just this, per New Orleans' WVUE:

Jefferson Parish is waiving fees for inspections and permits property owners need related to problems with defective Chinese drywall. Permits are still needed for the replacement of drywall, but the permits and inspections won't cost homeowners anything as they work to fix their homes.

Many area homeowners have run into problems associated with some tainted Chinese drywall. It's been blamed for damage to electrical wiring, heating and air conditioning units and more.

Quite promising news heading into this weekend. Continue to follow this blog as new information becomes available.

Fort Myers' NBC 2 reports on the ongoing plight facing Chinese drywall and the reemerging efforts to push for federal assistance in handling the matter. Submitting hand-written petitions to the governor, families are hoping the governor is able to help handle the situation and fill up the gaps that still exist. With a town hall meeting on Saturday at the Lee Commission Chambers in Fort Myers, Florida, many people are still pushing for answers to the problems facing those who unfortunately have Chinese drywall in their homes.

As a "town hall" meeting discussing Chinese drywall approaches this weekend, affected homeowners say they're tired of politicians passing the buck on the issue. We spoke with victims and pushed for answers from lawmakers on where and when the help will come.

They've hosted top federal officials, even testified on Capitol Hill. But 27 months into their plight, Chinese drywall victims Patti and Richard Kampf say they still don't have the answers or help they need.

"No matter which way homeowners go for an answer, there's always a caveat," said Richard.

The Kampfs' latest mission is trying to get Governor Charlie Crist to issue a disaster declaration to get victims federal money.

Grass roots efforts are a promising addition to the governmental actions being carried out by elected officials as time goes on. Only time will tell if the government is able to fix the situation for homeowners but the more involved people can be in ways such as writing to officials, the more attention this situation will receive.

A heads-up to those who have left their Chinese drywall riddled homes behind because of growing health concerns: make sure security is used. Areas around the country have been facing burglaries in homes left vacant by homeowners after they discovered the faulty wallboard was installed in their homes.

The Fort Myers News-Press reports

Lee Ferguson told Cape Coral police Wednesday that he had to move out of his house on Northeast Juanita Place because of problems with Chinese drywall.

He said when he returned to check on the house, he found that thieves broke in and stole the $5,000 air conditioner.

He said the thieves pried open a window to get into the house.

Ferguson said the burglars also took the ladder to the attic, which is worth $200.

This is the second home in Cape Coral — vacant because of Chinese drywall — that has been burglarized this month.

While the immoral will always take advantage of crises, this is especially hard to stomach given the fact that families with nothing in their homes still are being riddled with problems they may never have foreseen. For those who have left their homes behind, please make sure to install or use security lights or other precautionary measures to make sure the toll that had befallen you is not further extended by the theft of copper pipes, air conditioning units, fixtures and other valuable construction materials.

News coming out of Louisiana shows that Attorney General James Caldwell has filed suit in Louisiana court on behalf of government infrastructures looking to collect money lost helping residents remove and replace Chinese drywall. The move is a positive indication that funding will likely continue to be provided and that the state government is taking initiative to help Louisiana residents move forward from this calamity.

The Associated Press reports

Louisiana’s attorney general is seeking compensation for a flood of Chinese drywall imported after Hurricane Katrina that has been linked to corrosion in homes.

James D. “Buddy” Caldwell said he filed a lawsuit in state court today to help state and local governments recoup the cost of dealing with contaminated drywall. The suit names a slew of companies - from Chinese drywall manufacturers to home developers - as defendants.

Caldwell says the state has lost tax revenues, suffered a decrease in property values and faces high disposal costs because of the drywall.

He said 1.1 million sheets of Chinese drywall were brought into Louisiana after Katrina hit in 2005. Chinese drywall allegedly emits sulfur, methane and other chemical compounds.

While these suits will pursue more funding to replenish what has been spent by local and state governments, it may mean that further money would be available as time goes on to help fix these situations. What's more, it also means there is added pressure on manufacturers and distributors now that the state has filed suit for the faulty wallboard.

Discussing the extensive backstory and saga that has unfolded since millions of pounds of Chinese drywall were imported and used in the building and repair of homes in the United States, the Broward/Palm Beach News published an excellent piece that describes how the faulty wallboard has caused problems for thousands of homeowners.

The article notes

Before '04, Chinese businesses like Knauf Tianjin had rarely exported drywall to the States. But then a housing bubble inflated the demand of homes and depleted construction supplies. In South Florida, dozens of new condo towers sprouted along every stretch of beach and bay front, and hundreds of new golf-course-centered suburbs sprouted from Florida City to Jupiter.

The market exploded so quickly that American gypsum mines and drywall makers simply couldn't keep up. Chinese-based companies like Knauf gladly filled the void, and it sent drywall the company eventually knew was faulty.

The Chinese drywall passed through South Florida ports with virtually no inspections. Developers claim they didn't know that the imported drywall was flawed when they installed it in as many as 100,000 homes nationwide. But home owners began reporting problems immediately. Air conditioners failed every two months; electrical outlets corroded to black powder; homeowners suffered constant nosebleeds and persistent coughs.

It's actually a quite excellent read and has received a lot of attention on the internet for its use of Chinese perspectives on the issue and how well it sums up the issues raging on when dealing with the matter. For anyone who has interest in the legal complexities of imported goods and legal responsibility for the manufacturers, distributors and unfortunate recipients, it's a solid read.

For those in New Orleans, and in the Gulf Coast in general, our firm wishes you a happy, and warm, weekend.

Filed in late December of 2009, a trust representing a homebuilder that used Chinese drywall in its construction efforts has sued insurers for coverage of homeowners with the faulty wallboard. The company, WCI communities, is looking for financial assistance with the rebuilding effort necessary for those whose homes contain the toxic material. The Bloomberg News reports

A trust for WCI Communities Inc., the Florida homebuilder that emerged from bankruptcy last year, sued 14 insurers to enforce more than $200 million of coverage for settlements over houses with defective Chinese drywall.

Insurers including units of American International Group Inc. and Zurich Financial Services AG must help repay more than 700 WCI customers whose homes were built with defective drywall from China between 2006 and 2008, Robert Horkovich, the trust’s lawyer, said today in a phone interview.

The complaint, filed Dec. 23 in New Orleans federal court, says WCI customers in several Florida communities claimed that Chinese drywall caused health problems and property damage such as corrosion of wiring and television connections. The case is the first among many drywall suits consolidated in New Orleans to seek money from insurers, Horkovich said.

Any sort of efforts made by parties involved in the installation or use of Chinese drywall in American homes to hold insurance companies and other negligent parties responsible is a positive. Should the suit be successful, it is likely other companies and groups will follow with their own litigation, leaving homeowners in a positive setting in terms of receiving the money to move forward in the removal and replacement of the faulty material. While the complaint still has a large amount of time before it comes to fruition, this still may be seen as progress.

“A prompt and thorough insurance recovery is vital to enabling homeowners suffering from the effects of defective wallboard to remediate their homes and recover their losses,” Horkovich said.

More information on this complaint will be posted on this blog as it becomes available.

In an effort to bring fairness and acceptable billing practices to Louisiana and beyond, the Berniard Law Firm actively worked in the interest of resident cable subscribers against two cable giants in 2009. Filing in federal court, our firm, in conjunction with attorneys of several other Louisiana firms, took aim at the tying of cable boxes to the use of premium services provided by the cable companies. Because these cable boxes were only available through rental from the cable companies themselves, subscribers were forced to pay twice for what should be limited to the service itself. Facing either unnecessary rental charges or miss out on various channels and opportunities they were already paying for, cable subscribers quickly signed as clients of our firm and took aim through a class action against these companies.

For more information on how to join these class actions against Cox and Charter cable, check out our websites:

http://www.chartercableclassaction.com/
http://www.coxclassaction.com

We look forward to the judicial process beginning on these cases in 2010.

The New Orleans area has been dealing with a cold streak that, according to the National Weather Service, may actually get worse. The NWS in Slidell has issued a warning of extreme cold temperatures in the area from Thursday to Sunday morning. This will mean many residents and citizens in the area and around it will experience a chill to an extreme that rarely is felt.

While some areas of Louisiana and Mississippi may see snow, moisture is not as much of a concern as the chill that follows. Per the NWS report

ALL OF THE MOISTURE WILL MOVE OUT OF THE AREA BY THURSDAY EVENING AND THEN THE GREATER ISSUE ARRIVES...VERY COLD TEMPERATURES. AN ARCTIC AIRMASS WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE IN AND REMAIN OVER THE AREA FROM THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY.

THE AIRMASS IS NOT EXPECTED TO MODIFY CONSIDERABLY. THE AIRMASS IS EXPECTED TO BRING VERY COLD TEMPERATURES TO THE AREA THAT COULD BE COMPARABLE TO THE ARCTIC OUTBREAK OF EARLY FEBRUARY 1996...BUT NOT AS LOW AS THOSE EXPERIENCED DURING THE 1985 AND 1989 ARCTIC OUTBREAKS.

The potential for ice and poor driving conditions means motorists need to take extra precautions this weekend to prevent car accidents. Some tips from AAA for winter driving include

Avoid driving while you're fatigued. Getting the proper amount of rest before taking on winter weather tasks reduces driving risks.

Never warm up a vehicle in an enclosed area, such as a garage.

Make certain your tires are properly inflated.

Never mix radial tires with other tire types.

Keep your gas tank at least half full to avoid gas line freeze-up.

If possible, avoid using your parking brake in cold, rainy and snowy weather.

Do not use cruise control when driving on any slippery surface (wet, ice, sand).

Always look and steer where you want to go.

Use your seat belt every time you get into your vehicle.

As always, our firm hopes everyone handles this cold snap carefully and safely. For more information on the cold front, check out the NWS website at weather.gov or read the recent weather warning in full here.

Promising news emerged at the end of 2009 that provides some hope for those homeowners with Chinese drywall in 2010. The United States government, in an effort to provide local assistance for those who have unfortunately been struck with the toxic wallboard, allows for funding to be used to help with the removal and replacement of the drywall. This to say the least, is extremely helpful and an important development on this issue.

The Times-Picayune reports

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development cleared the way Tuesday for the Louisiana Recovery Authority and local governments to use Community Development Block Grant funds to help people with toxic drywall in their homes.

"That is very big news," said Christina Stephens, spokeswoman for the Recovery Authority.

This fall, the Louisiana Recovery Authority set aside $5 million to help Road Home applicants with problem drywall. Many homes that were built or repaired after Hurricane Katrina were constructed with wallboard that emits sulfuric gases that many people believe are making them sick and are corroding metal fixtures and appliances in homes. Insurers so far have been rejecting claims for damage, leaving homeowners without a source of money to fix the damage.

[The] announcement takes a major step toward making funds available to help drywall victims, but money cannot be disbursed until the federal government comes up with protocols on how to test for drywall and agrees on the proper way to remediate damage. Those decisions are expected to be made early [2010].

As the article says, these funding options will be emerging early this year and begin to provide financial relief for those who qualify. Funding may be an issue, as it often is with these matters, but progress is important. Reporting the toxic wallboard in your home may be a requirement of funding. To do so, here is some information:

Reporting the problem to the Recovery Authority will help the state document how big the problem is and make the case for federal assistance. Anyone who hasn't yet registered with the Recovery Authority should complete a form online at lra.louisiana.gov/drywallform or call the state's contaminated drywall hotline at 1.866.684.1713.

The Berniard Law Firm would like to wish you and yours a Happy Holidays. This blog will not be updated until the New Year and we hope to hear from you then.

Have a great rest of the week and enjoy what remains of 2009.

The Palm Beach Post reports

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will soon issue guidelines on how homeowners with defective drywall can apply for federal money, according to a letter sent to U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida.

Department secretary Shaun Donovan had previously suggested during a trip to Florida that homeowners may be able to find funding under the Community Development Block Grant program.

However, when citizens failed to get any assistance from the program, government officials looked into the situation and reassessed the application process. This reexamination has led to how a new explanation might emerge to help homeowners get federal assistance for their Chinese drywall issues.

"The guidance will provide details about the eligible activities relating to drywall remediation, and the ways in which (block grant) funds can be used to benefit families with various income levels," Donovan wrote to Nelson in a letter dated Monday.

"It is my expectation that this guidance will be valuable in helping affected communities and homeowners determine how best to respond to this set of issues," he continued.

While it is hard to speculate just what will be included in this guidance, it is promising that the government continues to take steps to help alleviate this situation in a variety of ways. Only time will tell just how effective the brainstorming taking place will be but the effort being put in by members of local and federal government is encouraging.

Albeit a small step forward in the pursuit of relief for residents of Louisiana, news emerging out of last week shows that local government is doing what it can to help victims of Chinese drywall. Reducing the costs of repair efforts, the Mandeville City Council has stepped up to provide a small amount of assistance. What's more, the manner in which the Council is helping is an innovative step that might be replicated across the state.

Suzanne Le Breton of the St. Tammany News reports

The City Council approved a measure Thursday night that would give individuals who make repairs after finding tainted drywall in their homes a break on their permit fees.

Anyone with proof that the tainted drywall was used in their homes can receive a 75 percent reduction when paying for the permits to replace the plumbing, sheetrock and electrical wires in their homes.

The measure was introduced by Councilman Jerry Coogan who said he feels every homeowner or builder who used the drywall from China not knowing of what it contained had their trust violated, and they deserve to get some relief.

He said since they are not getting that relief from the federal government, it is up to the local government to do what it can to help defray the homeowner’s cost of replacing the affected parts of the home.

The 75% reduction was limited by the building inspector because the city could not offer a 100 percent rebate but does show promise. Maxing out each city's efforts in whatever way they can helps provide a road map in which relief might be provided while those with the toxic wallboard wait for a more permanent or sizable mode of assistance.