NU Online news Service, May 18, 4:05 p.m. EDT

A Chinese drywall maker announced that it settled a case brought against it by U.S. homebuilder, Beazer Homes, for an undisclosed dollar amount.

Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin (KPT), through its legal representative, Don Hayden, a principal for Baker & McKenzie in Miami, said the settlement was reached in an attempt to put the issue behind them while assisting with Chinese drywall repair efforts.

"KPT has been in discussions with builders in recent weeks seeking a reasonable solution to repair homes built with KPT drywall," said Mr. Hayden in a statement.

He confirmed in an e-mail to NU Online News Service that the settlement between Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co. Ltd. and Beazer Homes relates to impacted properties in the two Florida Beazer properties where affected Chinese drywall has been uncovered.

"The settlement is a settlement for present and future property claims in those two communities in addition to 54 other properties that Beazer has inspected outside the two developments," he wrote.

He did not respond to a request to reveal the dollar-amount of the settlement before this article went to press.

The company said its drywall was imported into the United States within a 10-month period in 2006 and that KPT drywall accounts for 20 percent of all drywall imported from China during that period.

"KPT has developed a reasonable settlement offer to extend to homebuilders that will meet residents' expectations to live comfortably in their houses," the company said in today's statement.

"This settlement is further proof of KPT's commitment to cooperate with homebuilders, federal courts, regulators and official organizations," Mr. Hayden said in the statement. "We will continue to work with these parties to ensure concerns pertaining to KPT drywall are addressed and properly fixed."

In the same statement, Kevin Buster, partner at King & Spalding, who represents Beazer Homes, said: "We appreciate KPT's efforts to resolve this issue."

"As part of Beazer's customer service commitment, it has investigated many homes nationwide, and has aggressively reached out to its homeowners in its two affected communities in southwest Florida," he said.

"To date, Beazer has identified fewer than 50 homes with Chinese drywall, all located in those two communities."

"Beazer has proactively developed and implemented a comprehensive repair protocol, has offered that protocol to each of its homeowners where Chinese drywall has been found, and has been repairing the affected homes for some time now."

Special Reports /

Chinese Drywall Maker Settles With Homebuilder Beazer; Terms Undisclosed

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