NEW
ORLEANS— The Chinese Drywall Legal
Network announces that a settlement has been reached with Knauf
Plasterboard (Tianjin)
Co., Ltd. (“KPT”) in the national
Chinese drywall litigation pending in New Orleans.
In an effort
to eventually resolve all of the lawsuits arising from drywall
manufactured and
exported to the
United States by KPT, KPT has
agreed to remediate up to 300 homes. This remediation “pilot program”
is expected to serve as a model for a possible future global
remediation
program.
Homes
eligible for remediation must contain all or substantially all KPT
drywall and
must be located in Florida,
Louisiana,
Alabama,
or Mississippi.
Homes with drywall manufactured by other
Chinese companies will not be eligible to participate in the program.
The homes
will be fixed according to a protocol developed by U.S. District Court
Judge Eldon
E. Fallon, who is presiding
over the litigation in
New
Orleans. The protocol
requires, among other
things, the removal of all drywall, along with wiring, the
air-conditioning
system and other components — effectively gutting the interior of the
house.
The program
is set to start immediately
with the remediation of approximately 30 homes. The
additional homes, up to 300, will be identified in the next several
months and
remediation of those homes is expected to begin early next year.
In addition
to the cost of remediation, KPT will make a payment to the homeowner of
$8.50
per square foot of the home as reimbursement for
all alternative living expenses, personal property damage, and
maintenance of
the house while it is being remediated, including payment of all
utility bills,
insurance, property taxes, and moving and storage expenses. If the work
is not
completed within three months, KPT will pay the homeowner an additional
$1.50
per month for each month the work continues.