South Florida Business Journal - by Paul Brinkmann

The first federal trial in the nationwide Chinese drywall controversy is set to open Monday in New Orleans, with hundreds of millions in remediation dollars on the line.

The case is being closely watched nationally by manufacturers, lawyers, insurance companies and homebuilders, including Miami-based Lennar Corp. Blame is not the focus of the first trial, but the court is expected to set a minimum threshold for fixing homes where defective drywall was installed.

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More than 500 qualified homeowners can get appraisals reduced by as much as 70 percent

By Allison Ross, The Palm Beach Post

8:23 PM EST, February 18, 2010

WEST PALM BEACH

Palm Beach County homeowners with defective Chinese drywall are now eligible to get their property appraisals cut by almost three-quarters.

Property Appraiser Gary Nikolits said that homeowners with "verifiable documentation" that their property contains tainted Chinese drywall automatically qualify for a 70 percent reduction on their property appraisals.

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by: Daniel Vasquez February 15th, 2010 | 10:37 AM

As Florida and other parts of the nation continue to get their hands around the problems caused by home and condo units constructed with Chinese Drywall, there is some promising testing happening in South Florida that may lead to less costly treatments than having to rip out the drywall and rebuilt.

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The Associated Press

The Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Consumer Product Safety Commission have issued guidelines for homeowners to identify potentially problematic drywall. The agencies said Thursday the guidance will help identify the presence of metal corrosion and other characteristics of the suspect building materials. They say it requires a visual inspection that must show blackening of copper wires in the home only for drywall installed between 2001 and 2008.

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The federal government Thursday defined exactly how homeowners can document that they have problem drywall in their homes in the first of two anticipated steps that could make people eligible for financial assistance.

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By Andy Reid, Sun Sentinel

January 26, 2010

Replacing defective Chinese drywall in South Florida should be considered an emergency deserving of federal help for local neighborhoods, Palm Beach County commissioners said Tuesday.

The County Commission called for Gov. Charlie Crist to use his emergency powers to request FEMA funding and even federal economic stimulus dollars to pay for replacing defective drywall.

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State claims tax revenues have fallen because of toxic drywall

By Truman Lewis ConsumerAffairs.com

January 13, 2010 Chinese Drywall

The state of Louisiana is the latest to wade into the Chinese drywall battle, as Louisiana Attorney General Buddy Caldwell filed suit today in Orleans Parish against multiple entities associated with Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin (KOT), the Chinese company that manufactured most of the drywall at issue.

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FORT LAUDERDALE, FL -- (Marketwire) -- 01/27/10 -- Since the discovery that toxic Chinese drywall has devastated homes in Florida, attorney Mike Ryan, from Krupnick Campbell Malone, has worked to help find relief and solutions for homeowners across Broward County and the State. Ryan, a partner at Krupnick Campbell Malone Buser Slama Hancock Liberman & McKee, recently traveled to Washington, D.C. with homeowners and builders to press elected and agency officials to find immediate solutions to save communities from this defective drywall catastrophe.

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Richard Serpe paced behind his desk, a wireless telephone headset affixed to his ear as he discussed courtroom strategies with other attorneys.

For months the Norfolk lawyer has worked with scientists and contractors, cutting holes in walls in seven Virginia homes, testing corrosion, and developing estimates for what it will take to remediate homes that contain drywall made in China.

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