The parties agreed, and the Court directed, that an inspection protocol be established and that 25-30 inspections to occur over the next 30 days. After these initial inspections, the parties and the Court will review the protocol and expand the number and scope of the inspections. The parties are currently working on a profile form that, once approved by the Court, we will have 15 days to respond to the profile.

The Court also directed all parties to identify potential bellwether cases with 5 trials to occur early next year. Bellwether cases are actual trials of a small number of cases selected out of all of the pending cases to offer a picture of what a jury may decide in subsequent cases. It is very clear that the Court wants these cases moving.

The next status conference is scheduled for September 3, 2009 at 9:00 am in New Orleans. We will continue to update you as new issues develop.

Strom Law Firm is a personal injury and criminal defense law firm centrally located in Columbia, South Carolina. Our firm proudly handles personal injury, criminal defense, defective products, class actions, pharmaceutical liability, toxic torts, medical malpractice, nursing home neglect, workers compensation, social security, veteran’s benefits, qui tam, predatory lending, tax investigations, business litigation, and wills and estates. Our lawyers proudly edit the Columbia, South Carolina Injury Board as well as the Strom Law Blog as a pro bono effort to provide the public valuable information. Our lawyers are licensed in: South Carolina, New York, and Georgia.

2. Charleston was the third largest port in the United States to
receive what is now believed to be defective Chinese
Drywall, bringing in almost 18.7 million pounds of defective
Chinese drywall.

3. Chinese Drywall can be found in any type of home whether
a “cookie cutter” or “tract housing” type of neighborhood
where all of the homes are based upon designated floor
plans, as well as custom high end homes.

4. Despite what you may think, there is nothing that you can
do such as cleaning, disinfecting, etc., to get rid of the odor
and/or to “fix” the problem of Chinese drywall in your home.

5. If you have defective Chinese drywall in your home, you will
likely need to new drywall, carpet, your home rewired, new
appliances, and some engineers are concerned about the
structural integrity of your home even after the drywall is
removed.

6. It is now alleged that Chinese drywall can cause health
concerns, including nosebleeds, closing of growth plates in
children, headaches, and damage your nose and nasal
passages. Some experts are even concerned about
radioactivity.

7. Moisture and humidity can release of emissions from the
drywall, and with our heat and humidity, many homeowners
are just now discovering the problem.

8. If you believe that your home may have defective Chinese
drywall, you need to contact the Consumer Product Safety
Commission, as well as an experienced Chinese drywall
attorney.

9. There are many tests that you can take inside of your home
to determine whether your home contains Chinese drywall
such as air monitoring, checking behind your electrical
faceplates, and taking samples of drywall from your home.

10. Many homes may contain a mixture of Chinese drywall as
well as standard drywall, so it is critical that you take
multiple samples in a number of different places when you
test for Chinese drywall in your home.

If you have experienced or noticed any of the following indicators that you may have Chinese drywall, contact an experienced Chinese Drywall attorney today.

• Upper respiratory problems including nosebleeds, a rash,
headaches, or insomnia.

• You have only lived in your home a short time, but you have
had to replace one or more air conditioner coils.

• You have only lived in your home a short time, but you have
had problems with your appliances, including computers or
televisions, shorting out.

• Your silver jewelry, picture frames, etc. have tarnished
faster than normal.

• You feel better when you are not at home.

• You notice a rotten egg or acid type smell in your home
and/or neighbors or guests report smelling a rotten egg or
acid type smell in your home.

• The copper wires behind your electrical face plates have
tarnished or turned black.

• The external copper line connected to your air conditioner
on the exterior or outside of your home has charred or
turned black.

Strom Law Firm is a personal injury and criminal defense law firm centrally located in Columbia, South Carolina. Our firm proudly handles personal injury, criminal defense, defective products, class actions, pharmaceutical liability, toxic torts, medical malpractice, nursing home neglect, workers compensation, social security, veteran’s benefits, qui tam, predatory lending, tax investigations, business litigation, and wills and estates. Our lawyers proudly edit the Columbia, South Carolina Injury Board as well as the Strom Law Blog as a pro bono effort to provide the public valuable information. Our lawyers are licensed in: South Carolina, New York, Georgia, Florida, and the District of Columbia.