FLORIDA – Chinese Drywall Problems – Builders may have known as early as 2006

In a 4300-word column in the Broward (FL) New Times (1/5), Tim Elfrink discussed the Chinese drywall problem in Florida. A New Times investigation, “with reporting from a freelance writer in Beijing, has found that some of the Chinese manufacturers who made the tainted drywall are still producing it by the truckload – likely without any new safeguards in place. And if these manufacturers deserve the blame, so do the builders, the contractors, and the suppliers who had documented evidence at least as early as 2006 that something was wrong with the drywall.” Jeremy Alters, a Florida lawyer representing some homeowners, said, “It’s awfully hard to believe [builders] were buying this quantity of Chinese drywall, putting it in homes, and not knowing what was going on.” State Sen. Dave Aronberg said, “The only people taking any initiative are trial lawyers.” He added, “The government has dragged its feet on testing, the state has not acted… and there’s been no real legislation.”