Instead of a few bucks and some gift cards, Lowe’s has amended its stinky Chinese drywall settlement so that plaintiffs can get up to $100,000 – money that will come in a lot more handy for people whose entire houses and most of their possessions were ruined by the sulphuric fumes.
The previous settlement set aside a total of $6.5 million for victims and $2.1 million went to the attorneys. The new attorneys under the new settlement will receive a “commission” based on how many $100,000 payouts Lowe’s gives.
For information on joining the class action, check out the settlement page at drywallsettlement.info.
Lowe’s Amends Settlement to Get Drywall Victims More Money [ProPublica]
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That’s a pretty good settlement. Usually class actions are resolved with consumers receiving coupons for 10% off expired baby food.
Much better, I couldn’t believe they were going to give out a few hundred dollar gift cards and get away with that.
A few hundred $1 gift cards or a few $100 gift cards?… :p
I contacted Consumerist but did not hear back. Lowe’s is pulling a similar stunt regarding Dryer installation that void the manufacturer’s warranty. A class action suit is pending, and the settlement would be only $20 per person affected.
I don’t understand how Lowe’s got sued over this? They didn’t manufacture the drywall.
And back when this, maybe they didn’t know a lot about the drywall like they do now.
Because the contractor that were hired through Loews would use it. If I use loews to bring a contractor to my house. They might install this crap drywall, and back then people didn’t know any better.
I don’t remember from my time working at Lowe’s that we ever offered Drywall installations. Drywall usually means new work, which Lowe’s didn’t offer as part of installs when I was employed there. We would install roofing, decks, windows, doors, fencing, light fixtures, appliances, cabinets, lock sets, and plumbing fixtures.
Looks like Lowes’ total exposure is still very limited.
The major advantage to Lowes is they can’t be sued by anyone else. Anyone else who would want to sue would have had to opt out of being part of the “class” in this class action lawsuit. Now they are just part of the class and have to take whatever they can get under this settlement.
I recommend opting out of most class action suits anyways, unless the damage is small. I’m not going to sue a company for 5 dollars in over-billing.