Insurance Dispute Lawyer Blog

Saints coach Payton faces Chinese drywall head-on

Published on: July 27, 2009 | By Berniard Law Firm

New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton has Chinese drywall in his home. And he’s suing. According to the Examiner, the football coach has had a significant uphill battle to face in decorating and operating in his home, something many people in the community can likely relate to. The article notes that Payton has filed suit and that his home requires repair but who to pursue is vauge.

In an interview with CNN, Payton said about the possibly tainted drywall from China,

“We’ve had 5 computer failures, we’re on our 4th hard drive right now. We had 13 air conditioner service calls and three different coil failures. We’re on our third microwave oven panel, we’ve had to install a second set of phone lines, and a second alarm system.”

Suing for Chinese drywall issues possible, difficult

Published on: July 25, 2009 | By Berniard Law Firm

An article was recently published online that points out the difficulties homeowners with Chinese drywall face because of the dearth of information and policy to attack the faulty wallboard with. While Louisiana law does provide some manners in which litigation may move forward, there is not as much there as there could be. Previous legislation efforts proposed recently would have aided this matter.

A summation of legal angles on the matter include various different manners in which the law may be used but would require a skilled lawyer with the right case and information:

Right now, according to the Business Report, Louisiana homeowners can sue for defective drywall under the state’s Home Warranty Act. But under that law, there’s strict timetable for what is covered under warranty based on when the lawsuit is filed and when the home was built. If drywall problems were not immediately identifiable shortly after a house was built, that avenue of relief could be closed to them, the Business Report said.

Chinese drywall a delicate legal issue

Published on: July 24, 2009 | By Berniard Law Firm

In an article that further outlines why a lawyer is necessary for settling Chinese drywall matters, the Business Report recently outlined Louisiana’s battle against the faulty wallboard and the complex legal issues surrounding liability. Given that the product is imported and suppliers and contractors will claim to have been unaware as to its faultiness or toxic state, getting a resolution may be nearly impossible for most homeowners:

It’s unclear how many Louisiana residents have been affected by Chinese drywall, says Ray Kothe of Kothe Contracting and Construction Management and chairman of the National Association of Builders Chinese Drywall Taskforce. He had heard from a handful of Baton Rouge residents, but most homeowners that have been affected are in New Orleans and on the Northshore of Lake Pontchartrain.

But Louisiana homeowners with Chinese drywall might have problems proving their case without a federal- or state-sponsored measure to assume burden of proof, says David Nelson, a partner with Kean Miller who specializes in construction litigation. One such measure, authored by Sen. Julie Quinn, a Metairie Republican, and dropped during the legislative session, would have allowed homeowners to sue builders, suppliers and manufacturers for any damages related to Chinese drywall, including both replacement of drywall in the home and health-care issues that might develop.

Could Chinese drywall be breaking your Xbox?

Published on: July 23, 2009 | By Berniard Law Firm

In a more lighthearted series of news relating to Chinese drywall, video game and entertainment system fans have recently been blogging about the possibility that the faulty imported wallboard could be frying the Xbox. Recent Consumer Product Safety Commission warnings have included the following list of tell-tale signs your home is Chinese drywall built:

persistent rotten egg odor

respiratory or other symptoms alleviated by leaving a building and worsened on return

Another builder sets money aside for Chinese drywall claims

Published on: July 22, 2009 | By Berniard Law Firm

A quick little bit of news via the Naples News and the Wall Street Journal

Financially strapped homebuilder WCI Communities Inc. has agreed to create a trust fund to cover Chinese drywall claims.

The agreement is spelled out in a disclosure statement approved by a U.S. bankruptcy judge in Delaware on Friday. The approval paves the way for WCI to proceed with its reorganization plan.

State Department of Environmental Quality to investigate Dow

Published on: July 21, 2009 | By Berniard Law Firm

The Hahnville chemical leak that took place at the Dow Chemical plant is a story that has been getting a lot of traction in New Orleans, throughout the state and even nationally. As residents were exposed to an unknown amount of the dangerous gas without even knowing it, answers are being demanded and true responses should be coming from the company. The state of Louisiana is showing initiative in investigating Dow Chemical for their part in the leak of ethyl acrylate from a tank into the air, thereafter affecting countless people in the Southeastern Louisiana area. The Times-Picayune reports

A state Department of Environmental Quality official said Monday that an investigator has been at .Dow Chemical’s Hahnville plantnearly every day to investigate the cause of the the July 7 leak of ethyl acrylate fumes that irritated the noses eyes and throats of residents for miles around.

“He’s meeting with Dow people and asking some very tough questions about what happened, how it happened and how can we prevent it from happening again,” said Mike Alegro, manager of the DEQ’s southeast regional office, Monday afternoon.

Timeline emerges for Dow Chemical leak in Hahnville

Published on: July 20, 2009 | By Berniard Law Firm

This morning’s Times-Picayune released a highly important timeline for the Dow chemical leak on July 7th in Hahnville, as well as provides insight into just how inattentive Dow may have been to the matter at the point of the leak and hours after. The article reports

The EOC’s telephone log from the early hours of that morning shows parish personnel wrestling with the decision of whether and where to close off River Road in Hahnville as Dow employees attempted to dampen the fumes.

The parish got the first indication that something was amiss at 3:57 a.m., when an employee at the Shell Chemical plant in Norco, across the Mississippi River, called the EOC and said he smelled an acrylic odor, but that no alarms had sounded at his plant.

Company advertising Chinese drywall gas ‘solution’

Published on: July 19, 2009 | By Berniard Law Firm

A company located in Canada has connected with a Florida testing facility and has claimed to build a machine that reportedly reduced the dangerous gas levels emitted by Chinese drywall by “up to 85 percent.”

According to Canada.com, a carbon filter unit has been constructed that limits hydrogen sulfide levels in homes built with faulty Chinese drywall. Allen Air president Sam Teitelbaum states “We developed a carbon filter unit specifically to reduce the hydrogen sulfide (that has been found to leach from the drywall… In a 24-hour test, there was an 85-per-cent reduction.”

The article further details the matter involving Chinese drywall and the path being taken to combat it:

State Farm looking to raise prices in Texas

Published on: July 18, 2009 | By Berniard Law Firm

State Farm is looking to raise the rates of homeowners insurance in the state of Texas, appealing to the Department of Insurance for an increase up to 8.5%. The Lufkin Daily News reports

Insurance giant State Farm Lloyds filed with the Texas Department of Insurance on July 15 to increase its homeowners’ insurance rates in Texas by an average of 8.5 percent starting on Oct. 1 for existing customers upon renewal and Sept. 1 for new customers. Angelina County’s increase is below the state average at 5.7 percent. State Farm noted that 350,000 of its 1.2 million customers will see no change or a decrease in their rates as a result of the filing.

“We’ve seen major insurance carriers Allstate and Farmers raise their rates and now State Farm is completing the rate hike trifecta,” said N. Alex Winslow, executive director of Texas Watch, a consumer rights group based in Austin.

Chinese drywall homes may qualify for IRS tax breaks

Published on: July 17, 2009 | By Berniard Law Firm

Quick blurb on an article The Herald Tribune did on possible tax benefits for those who suffered as a result of Chinese drywall installed in their homes

The Internal Revenue Service says that victims of Chinese drywall might qualify for a casualty loss on their taxes because of the corrosion on pipes, air-conditioning and electrical appliances caused by gases released from the materials.

Section 165 of the IRS Code allows a casualty loss deduction in some circumstances, wrote George J. Blaine, the IRS’s associate chief counsel, in response to a letter from three U.S. senators, including Florida Democrat Bill Nelson, and a Virginia congressman.