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I would contact the IRS. They have a free hotline and will answer any question that you have for free. Use the line! You all pay for it! I've called before.
Or try IRS.gov.
I looked for you, and didn't find anything. You need to speak to your congressmen, folks. That should be a deduction. There is plenty from Katrina. I don't see what this is not a consequence of Katrina and Charley. Contractors were supplied with this crap. The Chinese made this stuff because they couldn't make the darn stuff fast enough from 2004, on. Talk to a PROFESSIONAL tax preparer about writing this off, due to the hurricane. That's allowable.
Last edited by hiknapster; 02-12-2010 at 10:20 PM..
Reason: adding irs, info
Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin ("KPT") had intervened and agreed to defend given the lawsuit against Taishan, but suddenly withdrew from the case on Thursday after the Court refused to allow KPT to introduce testimony regarding an "environmental control system which KPT argued could be used instead of removing drywall. The trial will proceed on Friday, February 19, 2010, but there will be no defense, no cross-examination and no defense witnesses.
I really find it difficult to swallow that something that can corrode a home's wiring and stop air conditioners from working isn't a health hazard. How many years did the tobacco industry know that cigarette smoking causes cancer?
I just got back from a trip to St. Lucia and visited the Sulfur springs in Soufriere. The interesting thing our tour guide said was that 100's of villagers have lived in and around the sulfur springs for many yrs with no health issues but that all of the metal around the erupted volcano was completely corroded. Just an interesting tidbit regarding people that have been exposed to high levels of sulfur gases over a long period of time.
Over the last two weeks, we have been successful in completing the groundwork that normally takes almost six months to complete. Plaintiffs and Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin (KPT)) worked together diligently as: over 14 full-day depositions were taken; Motions to strike (and to limit the testimony of experts) were prepared and argued before the court; and finally, the first day of trial is now completed. As many of you know, on the day before the commencement of trial, KPT withdrew from the proceedings, leaving Plaintiffs to put on their case with no counsel or representative for KPT present. Ultimately, only KPT and their counsel really know why they withdrew. However, it is obvious to us here in New Orleans that our successive string of legal victories in requesting the court to restrict KPT’s defense was the reason for their withdrawal.
It had become apparent that KPT’s defense was going to be two-fold. First, they sought to introduce expert testimony suggesting all they had to do was remove the defective drywall (but not the other drywall or wires), and put in a “super” air conditioning system they called “ECS” that would "resolve" the problem. They also defended our estimation of the cost of remediation by submitting expert reports contesting our cost basis.
The PSC filed motions to strike the testimony of their experts based upon the contention that the system advocated by KPT to identify the defective drywall was flawed, and resulted in too many cases where CDW was left in the house. The judge granted that motion (and another) that found that the “ECS” system was experimental at best, and not sanctioned by any governmental or other agency findings. These two rulings eviscerated KPT’s case. It was clear that KPT had no defense to present, and thus it was not surprising when they packed their bags and fled.
Two things should be noted: 1) KPT has been here through their counsel for the entire first day monitoring the testimony; 2) the court’s rulings (because of the nature of the MDL proceedings) will be difficult for the defendants to overcome in cases tried here, and will probably be persuasive to any other judges that try these types of cases in the future, unless the defendants are able to improve their methods.
Today, Richard Serpe, counsel for the Virginia plaintiffs, and Russ Herman, liaison counsel for the PSC, both took part in opening statements. The first witness was one of the Plaintiffs, and the second and third were witnesses from Beazer Homes. The witnesses testified about the remediation process being conducted on homes in Fort Myers and Tampa, and their reasons for doing so. They were followed by the testimony of Dr. John Scully, one of the premier corrosive science experts in the nation, from the University of Virginia.
One of the more esoteric, but very important issues, raised by the defense is the contention that if the CDW is removed, the copper does not need to be replaced. Dr. Scully testified about his extensive background and experience and explained that the copper is being consumed by the sulfur as it converts it to CuS2. In his opinion, the off-gassing from the Chinese drywall has created an extremely corrosive atmosphere that is sure to lead to failure. He further testified that even if the CDW is removed, the corrosion will continue unless all of the corrosion is removed first.
One of the other plaintiffs, Mr. McKellar, then took the stand and explained his family's situation to the court.
The last witness of the day was Donald Galler. Mr. Galler is an electrical engineer from MIT who specializes in failure analysis. Mr. Galler received (and examined) over 70 samples from your affected homes. He focused his testimony, however, on the silver portions of several key pieces of electrical equipment, including a light switch, a smoke detector, HVAC air handler circuit board, and television circuit board. In each of the cases, he observed suspicious growth on the objects by his naked eye. His further analysis of the objects by electron microscopy scanning revealed significant corrosion that (in his opinion) had either led to failure, or would lead to failure, and that all such items should be removed and replaced.
It should be noted that Judge Fallon is taking this proceeding very seriously and is asking cogent and intelligent questions of the expert witnesses. It is apparent that he means for this case to be significant, regardless of whether or not KPT chose to participate in them.
Thanks for the update! It sounds like it is a "systemic failure" that has and surely does lead to life safety, total loss, and is going to cost the defendants everything before they are done with them.
Thanks for the detailed up date! Great job spelling everything out. I look forward to your next update.
NEW ORLEANS - The federal trial aimed at determining what is needed to fix homes with contaminated Chinese drywall wrapped up Monday, with homeowners outlining how the tainted material had changed their lives and scientists and engineers saying only broad and expensive work would make the homes liveable again.
U.S. District Court Judge Eldon E. Fallon is expected to issue a detailed ruling in the next few weeks, deciding both the scope of remediation -- a decision that could have far-reaching influence for all affected homeowners -- as well as a monetary judgment against Chinese manufacturer Taishan Gypsum Co.
The plaintiffs' attorneys are asking for at least $2.5 million to be awarded to seven Virginia families whose homes have the contaminated Taishan drywall.
The costs calculated for remediation itself, based on bids solicited independently from two Virginia builders, averaged about $86 per square foot, or roughly $172,000 for a typical 2,000- square-foot home. A number of the Virginia homes were larger, and their actual totals ranged from about $190,000 to $312,000 to repair.
In addition, the plaintiffs are seeking to be reimbursed for out-of-pocket costs associated with coil replacements or other repairs, loss of electronics and other damaged possessions, relocation expenses, loss of income and diminished value of the homes.
On average, the cost of those additional factors beyond remediation itself almost equaled the repair costs for each of the Virginia homes. Attorneys told the Herald-Tribune that about $1.2 million would cover remediation, with at least another $1.3 million for damages beyond the remediation.
The trial, technically a default hearing against Taishan, which has been absent from the proceedings, was originally scheduled to last at least five days.
Spiderman Mulholland shared his experience also in trying to understand what was causing drywall to off-gas. "I was working with some really smart PhD’s and we were working on it 18 hours a day, 6 days a week and we could not find a consistent marker". The conclusion? This is a very complex issue with no "easy fix" and, according to Mr. Mulholland, if someone calls you and tells you they know the answer, hang up the phone. "The point is," he stated, "we still don’t know."
Mr. Mulholland pointed out that drywall is like a "sink" and that it does absorb odors also and that you can have two homes built side by side, same location, builder and so on and one have corrosive drywall and the other appear not too.
He said that houses can be remediated; that they do not need to be torn down and warned people to make sure they look at cross contamination of personal items as well. He stated that if you are doing any remediation right now, you are probably doing it wrong and went on to recommend that because we still do not know what is exactly causing the corrosive off gassing, anyone that is doing any remediation and remodeling needs to apply the "belt and suspenders" approach and build in a lot of precautionary redundancies to make sure they cover the lack of science available right now. He also suggested that if there is any concern about electrical, then "take the high road right now and remove the wiring."
Mr. Mulholland advocated that people continue to share information and that it is going to take a group of people working together with government. "We don’t want to create future problems", he cautioned.
During the question and answer period panelist Jim Moses was asked what he told families with kids whether they should move. Mr. Moses said that his standard response in situations similar to this is "do what makes you comfortable". He said he does not have the authority to tell people what to do and recommends that they look at all aspects including financial to make the right decision for them. He said there were only two exceptions where he suggested they find temporary housing.
Another question from the audience was whether high salt content in the air was a contributing factor to corrosive off gassing. The panel responded that they did not know about salt but the tightness of the homes due to higher energy requirements and the lack of makeup air in a house were probably contributing factors. They felt the problem was definitely related to high moisture content in the air but that there were a lot of different dynamics even just within one home and that each house gives different physical evidence.
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – March 11, 2010 – Governor Charlie Crist directed Interim Emergency Management Director David Halstead to write a letter to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Regional Administrator Phillip May regarding federal assistance for Floridians affected by defective drywall.
In the letter, the governor asks FEMA to “conduct a preliminary damage assessment related to the issue caused by the degradation of Chinese drywall used in homebuilding in Florida.” According to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, “Homeowners’ insurance does not cover the damages cause by the Chinese drywall.”
FDOH also compiled a list of the top 12 counties impacted by the presence of toxic drywall: Lee (86 cases), Broward (65), Palm Beach (63), Miami-Dade (57), Hillsborough (55), St. Lucie (50), Indian River (35), Sarasota (17), Collier (16), Manatee (13), Pasco (11) and Charlotte (10).
Last edited by Keeper; 03-16-2010 at 04:35 PM..
Reason: post a snippet
March 12, 2010
At the request of Gov. Charlie Crist, the state has reached out to the federal government to conduct a preliminary damage assessment and to provide financial assistance to Florida families suffering from property damage and potential health problems linked to Chinese drywall.
"According to Florida's Office of Insurance Regulation, homeowner's insurance does not cover the damages caused by Chinese drywall," wrote David Halstead, the interim director of Florida's Emergency Management Division, in a March 10 letter to his counterpart at the regional level of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
So do all of house built after 2006 have the chinese drywall problem?
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