Wednesday, March 19, 2008
NOW THERE IS A CLASS ACTION SUIT ABOUT THE FORMALDEHYDE
RV Business
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
A consolidated class action lawsuit that could include thousands of Gulf Coast citizens who have resided in emergency housing after the landfalls of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 was filed against the federal government and dozens of trailer manufacturers in New Orleans federal court Tuesday (March 18).
The lawsuit, which adds new claims to and consolidates several cases previously filed in Gulf Coast federal courts, names as defendants the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and several manufacturers of government-distributed travel trailers, park models and mobile homes, according to the seven-law firm plaintiffs' steering committee seeking to have the case certified as a class action.
Besides FEMA, the named defendants include Coachmen Industries Inc.; Fleetwood Enterprises Inc.; Thor Industries Inc.; Gulf Stream Coach Inc; Forest River Inc.; Jayco Enterprises Inc.; Monaco Coach Corp; Pilgrim International Inc.; Recreation By Design LLC; and Starcraft RV Inc.
The complaint claims multiple violations of federal and Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama law. The lawsuit alleges that manufacturers failed to warn the federal government about the risks of formaldehyde used in particle board, fiberboard, plywood, glues and adhesives used to manufacture the housing units and then "ignored or deliberately and fraudulently concealed" the risks.
FEMA is accused in the lawsuit of distributing housing units well after undisclosed air sampling of housing units at government staging facilities showed formaldehyde levels that exceeded government standards; seeking to avoid comprehensive testing of the housing units after widespread health problems were reported by residents of the housing units; ignoring the scientific work and concerns of federal scientists familiar with formaldehyde issues; and manipulating governmental testing of the housing units by seeking to ensure that long-term formaldehyde exposure considerations would not be addressed in testing findings.
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
A consolidated class action lawsuit that could include thousands of Gulf Coast citizens who have resided in emergency housing after the landfalls of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 was filed against the federal government and dozens of trailer manufacturers in New Orleans federal court Tuesday (March 18).
The lawsuit, which adds new claims to and consolidates several cases previously filed in Gulf Coast federal courts, names as defendants the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and several manufacturers of government-distributed travel trailers, park models and mobile homes, according to the seven-law firm plaintiffs' steering committee seeking to have the case certified as a class action.
Besides FEMA, the named defendants include Coachmen Industries Inc.; Fleetwood Enterprises Inc.; Thor Industries Inc.; Gulf Stream Coach Inc; Forest River Inc.; Jayco Enterprises Inc.; Monaco Coach Corp; Pilgrim International Inc.; Recreation By Design LLC; and Starcraft RV Inc.
The complaint claims multiple violations of federal and Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama law. The lawsuit alleges that manufacturers failed to warn the federal government about the risks of formaldehyde used in particle board, fiberboard, plywood, glues and adhesives used to manufacture the housing units and then "ignored or deliberately and fraudulently concealed" the risks.
FEMA is accused in the lawsuit of distributing housing units well after undisclosed air sampling of housing units at government staging facilities showed formaldehyde levels that exceeded government standards; seeking to avoid comprehensive testing of the housing units after widespread health problems were reported by residents of the housing units; ignoring the scientific work and concerns of federal scientists familiar with formaldehyde issues; and manipulating governmental testing of the housing units by seeking to ensure that long-term formaldehyde exposure considerations would not be addressed in testing findings.
