500 Brickell’s condo association sues over Chinese drywall
The Real Deal
By Francisco Alvarado
07 June 2016
500 Brickell
Three years after finding defective Chinese drywall in 29 units at 500
Brickell East, owners in the luxury condo tower are still battling to
recover $3.3 million in repair costs from the companies that provided
the allegedly corrosive construction materials.
On May 27, the 500 Brickell East Condo Association sued Indiana-based
Knauf Insulation, which manufactured and sold the Chinese drywall
installed in the 321-unit building, which was built by The Related
Group. The association also has a pending 2014 lawsuit against general
contractor Facchina McGaughan LLC and subcontractor Caceres Drywall
Corp., which obtained Knauf’s Chinese drywall from a Miami importer of
construction materials.
The association’s attorney Georg Ketelhohn did not return a phone call
requesting comment. Representatives for Knauf could not be reached.
According to the complaint, the drywall was manufactured in a Knauf
plant in Tianjin, China. The lawsuit states “Chinese drywall is
unreasonably dangerous in that it causes corrosion to HVAC coils and
refrigerator units, electrical wiring, plumbing components and has been
alleged to cause adverse health concerns.”
The Chinese drywall can also create sulfuric acid that dissolve solder
joints, corrode coils and copper tubing creating leaks, as well as
damaging “household items, including but not limited to microwaves,
lighting fixtures, faucets, silverware, and carpeting,” the
lawsuit alleges.
During the last construction cycle before the 2008 bubble burst,
developers relied on foreign countries for their drywall supply due to
a national shortage. However, some of the material imported from China
turned out to be defective, launching lawsuits around the country.
In 2013, a Miami-Dade jury ordered Knauf’s German and Chinese
affiliates to pay $6 million in punitive damages to Jeffrey and Elisa
Robin, who accused the drywall maker of causing them health problems,
as well as structural problems to their Coconut Grove house. The
company also had to pay $1.1 million in compensatory damages for its
faulty Chinese drywall.
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