Homeowners in Florida share $55 million settlement of tainted Chinese drywall lawsuit

Drywall CoverageAccording to court documents, hundreds of homeowners in Florida will now be sharing $55 million from a settlement of a tainted Chinese drywall lawsuit, which accused the global distributor of the product of lying about its safety. 

Banner Supply Co., as well as its insurers and affiliates will be funding the settlement to the homeowners.  According to the attorney for the plaintiff’s spokesperson, the settlement money will be shared among 500 to 800 homes which had received their drywall from the company. 

The insurance companies involved are Hanover American Insurance from Hanover Insurance Group Inc., the Chartis unit of American International Group Inc, FCCI Insurance Co., and Zurich Financial Services’ Maryland Casualty Co. 

The New Orleans-based federal judge who oversees drywall-related lawsuits must still approve the settlement of this lawsuit. 

In this case, the drywall which was used to construct the ceilings and walls of the homes was said to have been producing a foul odor as well as fumes that caused damage to fixtures, wiring, and even the air conditioning systems.  

It was a material that had been used in the rebuilding process after the area suffered devastation following hurricanes half a decade ago. The attorney of the plaintiff reported that the number of homes affected could be as high as 100,000. 

Banner Supply’s claim within the court documents was that it was not liable for the tainted drywall as it was merely responsible for the distribution of the materials manufactured mainly by Knauf Group.  This German organization is one of the biggest manufacturers of building materials, with sales of 5.6 billion Euros in 2008, according to the official website for that company.

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