Herman
Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin, a German-based drywall manufacturer named as a defendant in hundreds of suits relating to Chinese drywall, has reached a settlement agreement in the U.S. Federal Court in the Eastern District of Louisiana.
Knauf has denied liability in the settlement but it will help to pay and rebuild 300 homes affected by allegedly defective drywall in Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi and Alabama. The lawsuits claim that defendants negligently manufactured drywall, which allegedly corroded pipes in wires in hundreds of U.S. homes.
New Orleans attorneys Russ Herman and Leonard Davis and Philadelphia attorneys Arnold Levin, Fred Longer and Sandra Duggan make up the plaintiffs' liaison counsel.
New Orleans attorneys Kerry Miller, Miles Clements, Peter Sperling, Kyle Spualding, Paul Thibodeaux and New York attorneys Steven Glickstein and Jay Mayesh are representing Knauf.
U.S. District Judge Eldon Fallon is overseeing this litigation.
In two bellwether cases before Fallon in April, $2.7 million was to nine plaintiffs to repair their homes. Fallon ruled that not only must the defective drywall be replaced, but the wires and pipes that were contaminated must be replaced as well.
Plaintff and defense counsel announced the settlement as being based on guidelines set forth by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
The settlement establishes a "demonstration remediation program" which will remove and replace all the drywall, damaged electrical wiring, pipes, home security and fire systems while homeowners are provided with living arrangements during the process.
U.S. Eastern District of Louisiana MDL No. 2009-2047