This is a make-or-break week for Chinese drywall claimants whose homes were built with wallboard made by Knauf Plasterboard (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. They only have until Wednesday, December 2, to sign on to an omnibus class action lawsuit if they want to avoid some onerous international lawsuit requirements.
Knauf Plasterboard has agreed to waive its rights under The Hague Convention for the Service of Process Abroad for homeowners who sign on to this lawsuit by the December 2 deadline. The Hague Convention for the Service of Process Abroad requires claimants to pay approximately $15,000 per lawsuit, which allows for the translation of legal documents into Chinese and to have them presented to the appropriate authorities in China to obtain service on the Chinese drywall manufacturers. These requirements are obviously a huge obstacle to Chinese drywall claimants, and Knauf’s offer to waive them will greatly streamline the litigation process for plaintiffs who make the deadline.
Knauf is one of several Chinese drywall manufacturers accused in a private class action lawsuit pending in federal court in Louisiana, of importing defective drywall into the United States during the recent housing boom. The company has agreed to accept service of a single lawsuit that will be filed on December 9, 2009 in the Louisiana federal court. Claimants who do not sign on to the omnibus class action lawsuit will have to abide by the Hague Convention if they want to file suit against Knauf plasterboard. The December 2 deadline is a hard deadline, and the omnibus complaint will not be amended at a later date to add more people.
To be eligible for the omnibus lawsuit, claimants must submit pictures or other proof that they have wallboard made by Knauf Plasterboard in their homes by December 2, 2009. Any Chinese drywall homeowner interested in becoming a party to this lawsuit must start now by contacting an attorney and arranging to have their home inspected.
Parker Waichman Alonso LLP, the first law firm to file a federal Chinese drywall lawsuit, is offering assistance to any homeowner interested in joining the Knauf Plasterboard lawsuit. Free consultations are available through the firm’s website at www.yourlawyer.com, or by calling 1-800-LAW-INFO (1-800-529-4636).
Hundreds of homeowners have filed suit over defective Chinese drywall, and all pending federal cases have been consolidated in a multidistrict litigation currently underway in New Orleans. The first bellwether trials in that litigation are expected to begin in January.
