Well, it looks like there will be some real action in drywall cases against Chinese manufacturer Taishan Gypsum after all. Taishan Gypsum, who had a $2.6m default judgment issued against it back in April, has decided to finally make an appearance. Lawyers for the manufacturer showed up in federal court a couple days ago, giving notice that they will appeal the default judgment to the Fifth Circuit. While there has been speculation that Taishan Gypsum is owned by the Chinese government, the attorneys in the office here did verify that the company is a subsidiary of a corporation being traded on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. This fact explains why Taishan Gypsum didn’t just disappear into the night and really should be motivated to resolve these lawsuits against it.
All that said, I would imagine Taishan Gypsum’s best bet is to settle these cases because the facts and the Knauf Plasterboard drywall cases seem to lean heavily against them winning in court. For one, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, a federal agency responsible for the safety of consumer products, has already issued a report noting Taishan Gypsum’s drywall (identified as Taian Taishan Plasterboard) contained high levels of sulfur gases. Two, in a ruling against Knauf Plasterboard, the judge made factual findings that the emission of high levels of sulfur corroded copper and silver wires and other components, warranting not only the removal and replacement of all drywall, but also any other items (electrical, plumbing, etc.) that contain silver and copper components. And given the similarities between the Taishan cases and the Knauf cases, it seems that if Taishan Gypsum wants to make the case in court that their drywall was not toxic or that repairs would not require replacing all silver and copper components, they have a long, difficult hill to climb. Of course, their lawyers could have some surprise arguments up their sleeves but my wager is that they do what Knauf Plasterboard did and start settling.
Jason Lee
U.S. Legal Consultant
Allen & John Law Firm
www.allenjohn.com
Date: June 17, 2010
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