NORFOLK, Va., June 13 (UPI) -- Scores of Virginia homeowners driven from their homes by toxic drywall are still trying to recover their costs after two years.
Hundreds of homes in the Hampton Roads region were built with tainted drywall made by Taishan Gypsum Co. of China that was discovered in early 2009. Federal regulators say the product gives off sulfurous gasses that corrode metal, and homeowners report illnesses.
Many have abandoned their properties or lost them to foreclosure or bankruptcy. Others have sold out for less than half what they paid, The (Norfolk) Virginian-Pilot reports.
When supplies of U.S.-made drywall ran short in 2005 during the housing boom, a Norfolk supplier imported more than 150,000 sheets from China.
A major builder, The Dragas Cos., paid to fix 73 condos it built, but other contractors have been unwilling or unable to do so, the newspaper said.
Last year, a federal judge in New Orleans awarded $2.6 million to five Virginia homeowners from Taishan Gypsum, but the Chinese company says it is beyond U.S. jurisdiction.
Lawsuits against Virginia companies have been on hold as their attorneys try to bring Taishan into their cases and argue the liability of insurers.
