High court decision may impact tainted Chinese drywall claims

A U.S. Supreme Court ruling this week over whether an invidividual can sue a foreign company for product liability in state court may have implications for the hundreds of local homeowners whose homes were built with tainted Chinese-made drywall.

The court on Monday barred a New Jersey man from suing a British machinery manufacturer in state court, ruling that the court did not have jurisdiction over the foreign company.

Local homeowners have have filed suits in local courts against Taishan Gypsum Co. Ltd., the Chinese firm that manufactured the drywall that was imported into Hampton Roads. Federal product safety regulators say the drywall emits sulfur gasses that corrode metal in homes.

In April 2010, a federal judge in New Orleans awarded $2.6 million to five Virginia homeowners in a lawsuit against Taishan. The company, which originally didn't respond to the lawsuit, filed an appeal two months later. Now, the manufacturer is challenging whether U.S. courts even have jurisdiction over it.

-- Josh Brown

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