Is My Drywall Chinese? - HB Litigation Conferences

The EPA said these results are not intended to establish a definitive link between the drywall and the
conditions being found by homeowners in their homes.
The CPSC says representatives from the Chinese government are in the U.S. working on the issue.
Pointing to the blackened copper on their home's corroded air conditioning unit as all the evidence they
need, the Rojhanis say they aren't going to wait for the government studies. They say the air in the home
they share with their son, Seth, 18, who is paraplegic with a history of cancer, is giving them headaches and
causing sinus infections. Sherri says she's been coughing since February.
"What we are doing is discontinuing our mortgage, and saving our money for moving expenses, and for a
rental property," Sherri Rojhani told CNN.
They stopped paying their mortgage in April. Their attorney contacted their mortgage company,
Countrywide, recently bought by Bank of America, almost a month ago with details of their plight.
A letter to the Rojhanis from Bank of America's counseling center said the bank intends to move forward
with the foreclosure process.
That doesn't make sense to Sherri Rojhani.
"It's worth zero. They cannot sell it. They face the same issue we do for a potential buyer," she said.
Countrywide / Bank of America did not respond to CNN's request for comment.
Indeed, banks and mortgage companies across the country may soon find themselves in the same position
if homeowners walk away and allow their homes to be foreclosed.
"They're having to make choices about their credit and whether they are going to lose their home, but they're
always going to pick their health first," said Michael Ryan, the Rojhanis' attorney.
According to the Gypsum Association, a trade group that represents drywall manufactures, enough drywall
was imported from China during the housing boom from 2005 to 2007 to build 30,000 complete homes. But
it's possible that some of the Chinese drywall was used in smaller remodeling projects across the country.
So, the number of homes affected is difficult to calculate.
Meanwhile, the U.S. government has made clear that not all Chinese drywall is bad.
Rather than foreclosing, the Rojhanis suggest the banks team with homeowners against those who supplied
the drywall.
"It's in their best interests to join us in going after ... the distributors and the manufactures to get
remediation," she said.
The Rojhanis are now suing their home builder.
Joseph Espinal lives in the same Parkland, Florida, area as the Rojhanis, but his lender, HSBC, has given
him and his family a three-month grace period in paying their mortgage.