This case has garnered significant media attention, from major news outlets, to local papers, to legal blogs.

Associated Press (via Washington Post):

“If we sit down and talk, we can include more than money,” [plaintiff co-counsel Charlie Speer] told The Associated Press on Thursday. “It’s common sense. Nobody wants to live across the street from 80,000 hogs.”

AmLaw Daily:

“You can’t simply come into these environs, decimate the land, and expect not to be held accountable,” said plaintiffs counsel Stephen Weiss of Seeger Weiss.  ”We don’t want to put them out of business. We just want them to reform how they do business.” Weiss told us residents and Premium Standard began negotiating a global settlement after the company won a defense verdict in a 2007 trial, but those talks ended when a memo from the company was leaked to the Kansas City Star. “That chilled the discussions for reasons I don’t understand,” Weiss told us. “[Premium Standard's parent company] chose to walk away from any global settlement.”

Virginia Pilot:

“These corporations have chosen to invade traditional family farming communities and construct industrial operations that simply fail to respect the community and the land,” said Stephen A. Weiss, a New York attorney who represented the families.

Kansas City Star:

Several are fifth-generation farming families. They testified that the odors and swarms of flies sometimes drove them indoors. The situation made it hard to invite people over for barbecues or picnics, they said. One woman who sold Mary Kay cosmetics said she couldn’t have parties at her house. The daughter of one couple testified she couldn’t play outside as a child when the odors rolled in.

Law360:

“The families who brought this case have been living under a toxic cloud of hog waste produced by Premium Standard for more than 11 years,” plaintiffs’ lawyer Richard H. Middleton said.

The PopTort:

Mostly what the families want is odor abatement.  Their attorney said, ”If we sit down and talk, we can include more than money….It’s common sense. Nobody wants to live across the street from 80,000 hogs.”

USAgNet.com:

A Missouri jury has awarded $11 million to 15 people who complained of foul odors emanating from a nearby hog farm.

JDJournal:

“The families who brought this case have been living under a toxic cloud of hog waste produced by Premium Standard for more than 11 years,” said lead trial counsel Richard Middleton Jr. in a statement.

FindLaw Decided Blog:

The Premium Standard operation in Gentry County, Missouri, emitted odors so foul, they “defied description,” according to Stephen A. Weiss, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs.

AP via Miami Herald: Louisiana’s attorney general on Wednesday sued building supply manufacturers and developers over imported Chinese drywall that homeowners claim has damaged their homes and made them sick.

Attorney General James D. “Buddy” Caldwell said he filed a lawsuit in state court on Wednesday to help state and local governments recoup the cost of dealing with contaminated drywall. The suit names a slew of companies – from Chinese drywall manufacturers to home developers – as defendants.

Melissa and Jason Harrell of Homestead, Florida filed a lawsuit against South Kendall Construction, Palm Holdings, Keys Gate Realty and Banner Supply in March 2009.

Associated Press: Jury awards BP workers $100 million in lawsuit

A federal jury Friday awarded more than $100 million to 10 workers who claimed they were injured in 2007 when a toxic substance was released at BP PLC’s Texas City plant.

October 4

• New Orleans Times-Picayune: “Chinese drywall problems have spotlighted flaws in the U.S. legal system“

October 7

• New York Times: “Thousands of Homeowners Cite Drywall for Ills“
• Miami Herald: “Homeowners could lose insurance coverage over Chinese-drywall woes“

October 8

• The Atlantic Monthly: “The (Not So) Great Walls of China“
• Minneapolis Star-Tribune: “Toxic fumes in U.S. homes blamed on Chinese drywall“

Number (and Percentage) of Drywall Reports by State
Graphic Provided by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission

The Miami Herald reports that Florida and Louisiana legislators bombarded Inez Tenebaum, the new Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) Chairwoman, with questions about Chinese drywall at a meeting of the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection earlier this month. During the proceedings, Louisiana Representative Steve Scalise said, “It’s clear drywall has wreaked havoc in homes.”

The housing boom across the country combined with the massive reconstruction efforts in Gulf Coast states including Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and other large storms created a high demand for drywall over the last several years. This demand peaked in 2005 when the rebuilding efforts caused a massive drywall shortage, a gap filled by Chinese drywall manufacturers who flooded the market with their products. Approximately 30,000 homes and commercial properties were either repaired or constructed with the Chinese drywall between 2005 and 2006.

“It’s making many families in Florida sick,” declared Florida Representative Kathy Castor. “Families should not have to worry that building materials in their homes emit toxic fumes.”

Chinese-manufactured drywall is reported to contain high levels of hydrogen sulfides, compounds that when exposed to prolonged heat or humidity, release sulfur gasses resulting in: terrible “rotten egg” odors; corrosion of air conditioning, plumbing, and electrical systems; corrosion of metal surfaces and appliances; and physical injuries including but not limited to respiratory problems, nosebleeds, and headaches.

Tenebaum assured the Subcommittee that she understands “the personal hardship that this issue has caused homeowners” and that the CPSC investigation is “a key priority.” She pledged that the agency would issue its report on Chinese-manufactured drywall’s affect on indoor air quality and health by late October.

Seeger Weiss founding partner Christopher Seeger has been appointed to the Plaintiff’s Steering Committee for the Chinese-Manufactured Drywall Products Liability Litigation (MDL No. 2047) in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana.

For more information, check out our case page for Chinese drywall litigation.