THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, November 11, 1995 TAG: 9511110643
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
Virginia and North Carolina homeowners with leaky plastic pipes are eligible to participate in a $950 million settlement with the manufacturers of the plumbing materials.
``This is a suit homeowners nationwide can take advantage of,'' said Michael McCally, spokesman for Trial Lawyers for Public Justice.
The Washington-based group brought the class-action suit against two companies manufacturing polybutylene piping, a pliable material installed in an estimated 1 million homes nationwide and up to 6 million housing units, including mobile homes and apartments.
The material was used widely in home construction around Hampton Roads, local builders and plumbers said. The Associated Press incorrectly reported Thursday that the $950 million settlement applies only to 21 states that didn't include Virginia and North Carolina.
``Polybutylene is found in all 50 states,'' McCally said. ``We have gotten calls from all over the nation.''
Thousands of people from around the country had joined the class action suit over the past 10 years, claiming pipes leaked when exposed to chlorine and other chemicals commonly found in tap water. The problem is with the plastic fittings used before 1988 to connect the pipes together, said one local plumbing company official.
A Tennessee judge approved the $950 million settlement Thursday with Shell Oil Co. and Hoechst Celanese. Another company that made materials for the fittings, the DuPont Co., had agreed to a $120 million settlement approved earlier this year.
Deanna Ingersol, who lives in a condominium in the Ocean View section of Norfolk, is involved in the settlement. Ingersol said five of the six buildings in her complex, built in 1982 and 1983, have polybutylene plumbing.
``I have lived here for two years and have four leaks,'' she said.
Repairs cost Ingersol about $200 per leak, she said. But there was also damage to carpets and walls.
Ingersol said that her condominium association has filed a multiunit claim for extensive plumbing repairs and water damage. There has been some confusion over how to file a claim, Ingersol said, because there has been more than one leaky pipe settlement.
The DuPont settlement, reached in Alabama, has been joined with the one in Tennessee. In all, Thursday's settlement covers cases litigated in 18 states.
To file a claim or to get information about the settlement, call 1-800-876-4698.
KEYWORDS: LAWSUIT PIPES PLUMBING by CNB