Absurdity, Allegory and China

I started following the U. S. tainted drywall story back in January (2009), since one of the main Chinese drywall manufacturers is located here in Tianjin: Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co. Ltd. Since then the story has grown and is now making it’s way awkwardly through the U. S. courts. For those who end up here [...]

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Many U.S. readers interested in the Chinese drywall problems find their way here and ask me, both publicly and privately, what they should do. In the past I’ve pointed them in the direction of the Florida Department of Health’s page dedicated to this problem. Now they need to go to the China Law Blog and [...]

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In for a penny, in for a pound …
The first class-action lawsuit in the US state of Mississippi was filed last Friday in federal court in Gulfport, MS naming “Knauf Gips, Knauf Tianjin and Taishan, and possibly other unknown Chinese manufacturers” as defendants. This continues to build into what looks to be the next big [...]

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Just when it seems as if things cannot get any worse regarding the Chinese drywall problem in Florida, the next chapter opens up to more bad news, though this news seems more incredulous than just plain “worse.” Seems that the Tianjin, China drywall company at the center of the storm, the Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co. [...]

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The Chinese drywall problem in Florida (USA) not only refuses to go away (and I suspect that it won’t any time soon, since it continues to generate lawsuits), but it has just gotten a bit more convoluted. The latest twist has two US drywall manufacturers being included in upcoming suits. The National Law Journal (NLJ) [...]

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The Chinese drywall problem in Florida has gotten a lot bigger all of a sudden, according to a story in the Sarasota Herald Tribune: Scope widens in Chinese drywall case
Drywall produced by Knauf Tianjin Plasterboard Co. Ltd. — one of the problematic manufacturers identified so far — made it to the inland town of Sebring, [...]

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The Chinese drywall problems in Florida (USA), continues to gain steam, lawsuits are flying, and at least one class action lawsuit has already been filed. One large homebuilder is temporarily relocating people so they can tear out the defective drywall and replace electrical wiring. Finger pointing, unaccountability and corporate fear in these times of economic [...]

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More from Mary Wozniak from the Fort Myers, FL News Press, January 20, 2009, Lennar replaces Chinese drywall in homes
Residents inhabiting a dozen Southwest Florida homes are being relocated so the builder, Lennar Homes, can rip out Chinese drywall that corrodes interior fixtures and may cause long-term health hazards.
Lennar is paying all costs of relocation [...]

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The drywall mess centering on Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co. Ltd. is growing every day, though still not a word from the domestic or foreign media within China. The silence from the domestic media outlets is understandable: they are state-controlled and therefore have no interest in addressing more bad news regarding anything Made in China. But [...]

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A media statement released by Knauf on January 9, 2009 concludes
The company is conducting a thorough investigation and cooperating with builders that have contacted it. Studies and testing by nationally recognized experts are ongoing.  The testing has confirmed that copper has blackened and may be caused by low levels of naturally occurring sulfur gases. The [...]

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