Drywall Lawsuit Pending in Florida Court, Says Fort Lauderdale Injury Attorney
Broward personal injury lawyer Andrew Alitowski is familiar with product liability claims, such as the recent class action lawsuit filed against the manufacturer of a drywall product used in the United States. Georgia-Pacific Gypsum, along with 84 Lumber, and other companies are facing a lawsuit that alleges that they sold or distributed defective drywall. According to the homeowners affected, the drywall used in the construction of their homes contains large amounts of synthetic gypsum. Fort Lauderdale injury attorney Alitowski says the homeowners believe that the gypsum breaks down after a short period of time.
According to the lawsuit, the synthetic gypsum releases sulfur compounds when it breaks down, an event that may be even more likely in the Florida summer heat. The gypsum is synthesized from coal byproducts at power plants. The sulfur components are trapped between the layers of drywall inside the walls of a home, the lawsuit alleges. Sulfur dioxide gas is released into the air due to the heat and Florida humidity, which in turn causes metals to oxidize, is the theory of the plaintiffs’ case, says Broward injury attorney Alitowski. The lawsuit says that the sulfur dioxide makes consumers sick, oxidizes copper wiring, and may even oxidize other metals (such as jewelry) exposed to the harmful gas.
Plaintiffs in surrounding states have filed similar class action lawsuits against China-based drywall manufacturers, but this may be the first time a U.S. manufacturer has been accused of creating a defective, gypsum-seeping drywall product. The lawsuit alleges that the manufacturer failed “to exercise ordinary care” regarding the product and that, further, the companies breached their implied warranty of merchantability and their implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose.
Georgia-Pacific, however, claims that the family that first filed the lawsuit never contacted their business with complaints. The company spokesman says that, “Georgia-Pacific, like other domestic manufacturers, has been using synthetic gypsum for years, and to date to our knowledge we have not received any complaint that those products using synthetic gypsum may be associated with a house experiencing the problems reported with Chinese wallboard."
Andrew Alitowski and William Moore are experienced Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorneys who provide legal representation for numerous types of claims, such as slip and fall accidents and wrongful death cases. If you or a loved one have been injured in the Fort Lauderdale-Miami-West Palm Beach area, contact a south Florida personal injury attorney at 1-888-ASK-ANDREW to find out if you could be eligible to receive monetary damages. Broward personal injury lawyers Alitowski & Moore have provided outstanding legal representation to thousands of injured clients. Offices are located in Broward, Miami-Dade, and Palm Beach Counties.
