A couple of Florida communities have taken steps to get some help for Chinese drywall victims. St. Lucie County Commissioners have become the latest to petition Governor Charlie Crist for an emergency declaration over the Chinese drywall crisis. Meanwhile, the Parkland City Commission has agreed to eliminate building permit fees for Chinese drywall repairs.

Prior to passing a resolution to seek an emergency declaration, St. Lucie County Commissioners heard from Brian Sexton, who has been forced to abandon his home because of health concerns after it was found to have toxic Chinese drywall. Sexton told the Commissioners that he has been renting an apartment and has received no help from his mortgage lender. As a result, his credit is now ruined. More Parkland, St. Lucie County Look to Help Chinese Drywall Victims

The litigation involving the Chinese drywall debacle will kick into high gear on Friday. A hearing in federal court in New Orleans is to focus on seven Virginia homes built with Chinese drywall, and could set the bar for the remediation of homes with the tainted wallboard nationwide.

At least 3,000 people from across the country have filed suit over defective Chinese drywall. All of the Chinese drywall lawsuits filed in federal courts have been consolidated in the US District Court in New Orleans under Judge Eldon E. Fallon as part of a multidistrict litigation (MDL). One single class action lawsuit alone filed against Knauf Gips KG, its Chinese affiliate, Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co. Ltd., and 600 other defendants, involves nearly 2,100 plaintiffs from Florida, Mississippi and Alabama. More Major Chinese Drywall Hearing Set for Friday

Chinese drywall has the Cape Coral, Florida City Council considering a resolution that would ask Gov. Charlie Crist to declare a state of emergency over the defective wallboard. According to News-Press.com, such a declaration would make state and federal assistance, including help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), available to Chinese drywall victims.

As we’ve reported previously, Florida’s City of Parkland and Broward county passed such resolutions earlier this month. According to News-Press.com, the request for the resolution was made to the Cape Coral City Council by an organization of about 350 homeowners, and is modeled after those past by Parkland and Broward. More Another Florida Town Seeks Chinese Drywall Emergency Declaration

National Gypsum, a U.S. drywall manufacturer, is defending itself against claims that its wallboard has caused corrosion and other problems in homes similar to what has been blamed on Chinese drywall.

Last week, we reported that two Florida families had filed suit against National Gypsum over allegedly defective drywall. George and Brenda Brincku of Alva, and Lydia and Apolinar Garcia of Cape Coral, were listed as lead plaintiffs in the National Gypsum lawsuit. According to the Sarasota Herald Tribune, the Brincku’s say their home contains only domestic drywall, and 90 percent of it was made by National Gypsum. The family has experienced extensive corrosion to their home, and a Florida health official told the Herald Tribune that this past spring that the Brincku’s residence was one of the worst examples of an affected home he had seen. The complaint said tests conducted by the Massachusetts Institute for Technology (MIT) on drywall from the Brincku home supported the lawsuit’s claims. More National Gypsum Refutes Defective Drywall Claims

A Chinese drywall lawsuit has been filed by the Louisiana attorney general against manufacturers and home developers. The lawsuit claims the state of Louisiana has and will continue to suffer economic loss because of the defective Chinese drywall.

Defendants in the suit include Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin, one of the major manufacturers of Chinese drywall. Other international and domestic manufacturers, distributors, and importers of toxic Chinese wallboard are also named as defendants. More Louisiana AG Files Suit Over Chinese Drywall

National Gypsum, a U.S. drywall manufacturer, has been hit with a class action lawsuit by Florida homeowners who say the company’s wallboard is causing problems in their houses identical to those blamed on Chinese drywall.

George and Brenda Brinku of Alva, and Lydia and Apolinar Garcia of Cape Coral, are listed as lead plaintiffs in the National Gypsum lawsuit. According to the Sarasota Herald Tribune, the Brinku’s home contains only domestic drywall, and 90 percent of it was made by National Gypsum. The family has experienced extensive corrosion to their home, and a Florida health official told the Herald Tribune that this past spring that the Brinku’s residence was one of the worst examples of an affected home he had seen. More Drywall Lawsuit Names American Manufacturer

The litigation involving Chinese drywall will soon kick into high gear, with the first bellwether trials expected to start this month. More than 3,000 people across the country have filed suit against the manufacturers, suppliers, builders and other entities that played a role in the Chinese drywall crisis.

All of the Chinese drywall lawsuits filed in federal courts have been consolidated in the US District Court in New Orleans under Judge Eldon E. Fallon as part of a multidistrict litigation (MDL). One single class action lawsuit alone filed against Knauf Gips KG, its Chinese affiliate, Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co. Ltd., and 600 other defendants, involves nearly 2100 plaintiffs from Florida, Mississippi and Alabama. More First Chinese Drywall Trials Start This Month

In an attempt to force the payment of Chinese drywall damage claims, a lawsuit has been filed against 14 insurers for WCI Communities Inc. The lawsuit was filed by a Chinese drywall trust set up by the Florida-based builder after it emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year.

WCI is one of many Florida builders which has acknowledged using Chinese drywall. This past August, Judge Kevin J. Carey approved the firm’s reorganization plan, which allowed WCI to emerge from bankruptcy. Included in the plan was the WCI Communities Chinese Drywall Trust, which the builder funded with $900,000. That money was intended to help offset the cost of litigation against insurers and other companies involved in Chinese drywall disaster. The trust assumed all of the company’s drywall liability, as well as its claims against insurance companies. Nearly 700 homeowners may seek recovery through the WCI Trust. More Chinese Drywall Trust Files Suit Against Insurance Companies

A Florida lawmaker is pushing the state legislature to act on the Chinese drywall crisis. According to Bradenton.com, Sen. David Aronberg, D-Greenacres, says he is tired of waiting for the state’s governor and the federal government to do something about the Chinese drywall problem that is plaguing thousands of Florida homeowners.

Of the more than 2,700 complaints regarding Chinese drywall made to the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC), most – 1,615 – have come from Florida. Chinese drywall poured into the U.S. between 1999 and 2007 because of the high demand created by the housing boom. Imports accelerated when the rebuilding that followed Hurricane Charley in Florida in 2004, and Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf Coast in 2005, created a drywall shortage. According to an earlier Wall Street Journal report, some 500 million pounds of Chinese drywall was imported to the U.S. during the housing boom. That means as many as 100,000 homes throughout the country could have been built with the material. More Chinese Drywall Bills Introduced in Florida Senate

Medallion Homes, a Bradenton, Florida-based builder, has been added to the list of those firms known to have used Chinese drywall. According to a report on Herald-Tribune.com, Medallion Homes used Chinese drywall manufactured by Knauf Tianjin Plasterboard Ltd. Co. in at least three homes.

Just last month, Knauf was named in a massive class action lawsuit that involves nearly 2100 plaintiffs from Florida, Mississippi and Alabama, and 600 other defendants. That lawsuit, and other Chinese drywall lawsuits pending in federal court, were consolidated in a multidistrict litigation in the Eastern District of Louisiana over the summer. The first bellwether trials in the litigation are slated to begin in January. More Chinese Drywall Used in Florida Homes Built by Medallion Homes