This blog is published by Wolfe Law Group, a construction law practice with offices in Seattle, WA and New Orleans, LA.

Thus far, the blog has focused a great deal on Louisiana news and law related to Chinese Drywall – and the reason is simple: The amount of imported Chinese Drywall in Louisiana is second only to Florida.

Further, Chinese Drywall was by and large imported into Gulf Coast states like Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia and Texas.

While the state of Washington is clearly worlds apart from the Gulf Coast region…it’s not out of the woods insofar as Chinese Drywall in concerned. In fact, its among the 12 U.S. states who have imported at least 1 million pounds of tainted drywall from China since January 1, 2006.

A helpful graphic based on data published by the Herald Tribune shows that Washington has imported 2,437,491 pounds of Chinese Drywall since January 1 2006, which is enough to build approximately 270 homes.

As lawsuits gather stem in Florida and Louisiana, and across the Gulf Coast, Washington contractors and suppliers ought to remain viligent and cautious of Chinese Drywall claims.

Have questions about what to do if you installed or supplied tainted drywall? We wrote an Avvo Legal Guide on the topic here…and you can always contact Wolfe Law Group.

We authored a legal guide on Avvo.com about what Builders & Suppliers should do If They Have Installed or Supplied Chinese Drywall.

The folks at Coastal Contractor magazine highlighted another such “guide” from attorneys at Wood Smith Hening & Berman, LLP. The useful guide is titled “Chinese Drywall Personal Injury Claims: Lessons from Prior Mass Torts.”

While our discussion focused on practical choices facing builders and suppliers who should move quickly to mitigate their damages, involve insurance and retain counsel….this guide focuses on the mass tort aspect of the Chinese Drywall claims.

A tort – for the non-lawyer readers – a body of law that addresses, and provides remedies for, civil wrongs not arising out of contractual obligations. Usually, they are commonly referred to as “personal injury” damages.

As the authors in the Mass Torts guide discuss, the Chinese Drywall claims are interesting in that they present construction defect claims & tort claims. The authors suggest that builders, suppliers and other effected parties should learn from prior mass tort cases in preparing their defenses.

The thesis is good, and useful for both construction attorneys and construction industry participants faced with these claims. It ties in to previous discussions here at the Chinese Drywall Blog about whether Class Actions are a right fit for drywall claims and about builder exposure in the claims.

The Chinese Drywall phenomenon continues….and it seems that as each day passes, builders are drawn closer and closer to the crisis.

Last week, we asked whether builders were getting a “free pass” on the Chinese Drywall issue.

However, just a few days later Lennar Co. was named as a party to a class action suit, and this week a local North Carolina construction outfit – Stafford Custom Homes, Inc. – was sued for installing Chinese Drywall.

So how are builders handling Chinese Drywall claims and complaints?

This morning, the Herald Tribune has posted an interesting article on this topic. Comparing Lennar Co.’s Chinese Drywall methodology with other national builders, the article says this:

Within just a few square miles sit four developments with clusters of affected homes, built by at least three different builders: Lennar Corp., Taylor Morrison and WCI Communities.

The East Manatee homeowners who have been touched by tainted wallboard — tied to corrosion of metals and the subject of an investigation by state and federal health officials to determine whether it poses health risks — find themselves caught up in a situation largely beyond their control.

For many, their experiences have been shaped by the behavior of their builders — whose responses have run the gamut from tearing out the bad drywall in Lennar’s case to taking no action at all.

Read full article.

More important than the question of how builders are handling claims, however, may be the question of how they should be handling claims.

Wolfe Law Group’s Scott Wolfe just published a Legal Guide on the lawyer rating web-service, Avvo.com, titled “What To Do If You Supplied or Installed Chinese Drywall?”

The Legal Guide goes on to answer that precise question, offering builders, suppliers and other construction participants with helpful tips on how to proceed if they are wrapped up in an imported drywall claim.

The Legal Guide’s summary states as follows:

Enough Chinese Drywall was imported into the United States to build 60,000 average-sized homes. Many now fear the drywall was contaminated, and to blame for the rapid corrosion of building elements and health concerns. What to do if your company supplied or installed Chinese Drywall? Read on.

And here are the tips (stripped of commentary):

• Determine Whether Your Company Supplied or Installed Chinese Drywall;
• Mitigate Your Damages
• Get Prepared
• Get Counsel and Consider Legal Options

Read the full legal guide on Avvo.com here.