National Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Drywall Companies for Manufacturing Sulfur Emitting Drywall

Miami, Florida, March 2, 2009 – Attorney Ervin A. Gonzalez announced a federal class action lawsuit filed in Miami court today against the manufacturers of sulfur emitting drywall and the builders of homes that installed them. The lawsuit names various manufacturers including KNAUF GIPS KG, a German Corporation, KNAUF PLASTERBOARD (TIANJIN) CO., LTD., a Chinese limited liability corporation, KNAUF PLASTERBOARD (WUHU) CO. LTD., and KNAUF PLASTERBOARD (DONGGUAN) CO. LTD., who are alleged to have produced drywall containing toxic levels of sulfur that has resulted in property damage and health hazards to homeowners. The lawsuit also names several home builders including TAYLOR MORRISON, INC., of Lee County Florida, TOUSA HOMES, INC. (formerly known as ENGLE HOMES) of Broward County Florida, and SOUTH KENDALL CONSTRUCTION, CORP., of Miami Dade County Florida. Also named in the lawsuit are BANNER SUPPLY and ROTHCHILT INTERNATIONAL who distributed the product.

As early as 2007, after homeowners moved into their newly constructed homes, they began to notice strong “rotten egg” odors in their homes. They also noticed that many of their new appliances were failing, wiring was corroding, air-conditioning coils needed replacing and they began to experience headaches, sore throats, nose bleeds and upper respiratory problems. According to the lawsuit, the culprit is alleged to be defective drywall that emits various sulfide gases and/or other chemicals through “off-gassing” that creates noxious, “rotten egg-like” odors, and causes corrosion of metals including those in air-conditioners, refrigerator coils, microwaves, faucets, utensils, copper tubing, electrical wiring, computer wiring, personal property, electronic appliances, and other metal surfaces and household items. “This may be the worst case of defective houses in history,” said Ervin A. Gonzalez, attorney for the homeowners. According to the lawsuit, the defect is hidden and existed in the defendants’ drywall at the time of installation regardless of the way the product was installed, maintained, and/or painted. “There is no repair that will correct the defect,” said Gonzalez. “The only solution is for the homeowner to move out, gut the home and start all over again. Not everyone has the luxury of doing that, especially when they just spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on a new home. I find that disturbing.”

According to the lawsuit, the drywall is defective due to its high sulfur content and the expected homes in the U.S. that are affected are in the tens of thousands. A drywall panel is made of a paper liner wrapped around an inner core made primarily from hardened gypsum plaster. The core material of drywall, gypsum, is available in two forms, pure gypsum, which is naturally occurring, and synthetic gypsum, which is manmade. Synthetic gypsum is generally manufactured with byproducts of coal-fired power plants. When gypsum, mined or synthetic, is subjected to certain environmental conditions, the product breaks down into sulfate ions which in turn can be chemically transformed into hydrogen sulfide gas and other sulfide gases. The problem of sulfide emissions from drywall is well-understood in the drywall industry and has been studied for many years. The level of sulfides emitted from drywall may depend, in part, on contamination of the drywall with sulfur materials or the use of contaminated gypsum materials. Sulfide emissions from drywall have been a particular problem in landfills and, as such, many landfills refuse to accept drywall or place strict limitations on the amounts and on the ways in which drywall can be disposed. “The industry has ways of testing the product,” said Gonzalez. “These products should have never made it to the consumer. Now, not only do we have to worry about homeowners living in houses with defective drywall, but they have to worry about the consequences that this may have on their health in the future as well as the environment.”

The homeowners are seeking compensatory damages for the direct and consequential damages caused by the defective drywall that include the cost of repair and replacement of the homeowner’s houses and personal property as well as relocation costs and other related economic expenses. In addition, the lawsuit is seeking damages for medical monitoring, to provide medical screening in order to determine if they are suffering from, or will likely suffer from, a sulfur related injury or disease. “Our ultimate goal is to get the manufacturer and homebuilders to do the right thing,” said Gonzalez. “Many of these homeowners have no place to go and are forced to live in their contaminated homes. We estimate that about 60,000 homes in the U.S. are affected. This is going to have a huge impact on peoples’ health, emotional well being and financial situation.”

Class action allegations have been filed on behalf of Karen Vickers, Felix Martinez, Jenny Martinez, Jason Santiago, Gene Raphael, Walter Neimczura, and Jim Tarzy, individually, and on behalf of all others similarly situated.