Bennett et al v. Gebrueder Knauf Verwaltungsgesellschaft KG et al

Filing 9

REMAND ORDER: action is remanded back to the Northern District of Alabama by MDL Panel.(my)

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UNITED STATES JUDICIAL PANEL
on
MULTIDISTRICT LITIGATION

IN RE: CHINESE−MANUFACTURED
DRYWALL PRODUCTS LIABILITY
LITIGATION

MDL No. 2047

(SEE ATTACHED SCHEDULE)

CONDITIONAL REMAND ORDER

The transferee court in this litigation has advised the Panel that coordinated or consolidated pretrial
proceedings in the action(s) on this conditional remand order have been completed and that remand
to the transferor court(s), as provided in 28 U.S.C. § 1407(a), is appropriate.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the action(s) on this conditional remand order be remanded to
its/their respective transferor court(s).
IT IS ALSO ORDERED that, pursuant to Rule 10.2 of the Rules of Procedure of the United States
Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, the transmittal of this order to the transferee clerk for
filing shall be stayed 7 days from the date of this order. If any party files a notice of opposition with
the Clerk of the Panel within this 7−day period, the stay will be continued until further order of the
Panel. This order does not become effective until it is filed in the office of the Clerk for the United
States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that, pursuant to Rule 10.4(a), the parties shall furnish the Clerk for
the Eastern District of Louisiana with a stipulation or designation of the contents of the record to be
remanded.

FOR THE PANEL:
Jan 05, 2021

John W. Nichols
Clerk of the Panel

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IN RE: CHINESE−MANUFACTURED
DRYWALL PRODUCTS LIABILITY
LITIGATION

MDL No. 2047

SCHEDULE FOR CRO
TRANSFEREE
DIST DIV. C.A.NO.
LAE

2

14−02722

TRANSFEROR
DIST DIV. C.A.NO.
ALN

5

14−02204

CASE CAPTION
Bennett et al v. Gebrueder Knauf
Verwaltungsgesellschaft KG et al

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF LOUISIANA
IN RE: CHINESE-MANUFACTURED DRYWALL
PRODUCTS LIABILITY LITIGATION

THIS DOCUMENT RELATES TO:
Elizabeth Bennett, et al. v. Gebr.
KnaufVerwaltungsgesellschaft, KG, et al., No. 14-2722

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CIVIL ACTION
MDL NO. 2047
SECTION L (5)

SUGGESTION OF REMAND, OPINION AND ORDER
I.

BACKGROUND
From 2004 through 2006, the housing boom in Florida and rebuilding efforts necessitated

by Hurricanes Rita and Katrina led to a shortage of construction materials, including drywall. As
a result, drywall manufactured in China was brought into the United States and used to construct
and refurbish homes in coastal areas of the country, notably the Gulf Coast and East Coast.
Sometime after the installation of the Chinese drywall, homeowners began to complain of
emissions of foul-smelling gas, the corrosion and blackening of metal wiring, surfaces, and objects,
and the breaking down of appliances and electrical devices in their homes. See In re ChineseManufactured Drywall Prods. Liab. Litig., 894 F. Supp. 2d 819, 829–30 (E.D. La. 2012), aff’d,
742 F.3d 576 (5th Cir. 2014). Many of these homeowners also began to complain of various
physical afflictions believed to be caused by the Chinese drywall.
These homeowners then began to file suit in various state and federal courts against
homebuilders, developers, installers, realtors, brokers, suppliers, importers, exporters, distributors,
and manufacturers who were involved with the Chinese drywall. As a result, many homebuilders
also filed suit seeking to recoup their damages. Because of the commonality of facts in the various

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cases, this litigation was designated as a multidistrict litigation. Pursuant to a Transfer Order from
the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation on June 15, 2009, all federal cases
involving Chinese drywall were consolidated for pretrial proceedings in MDL 09-2047 before this
Court. The Chinese drywall at issue was largely manufactured by two groups of defendants: (1)
the Knauf Entities and (2) the Taishan Entities. The litigation has focused upon these two entities
and their downstream associates and has proceeded on strikingly different tracks for the claims
against each group. Because the Bennett action only involves the Knauf Entities, the Court does
not address the Taishan portion of the litigation in this Order.
II.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY
A.

The Knauf Defendants

The Knauf Entities are German-based, international manufacturers of building products,
including drywall, whose Chinese subsidiary, Knauf Plasterboard (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. (“KPT”),
advertised and sold its Chinese drywall in the United States. The Knauf Entities are named
defendants in numerous cases consolidated with the MDL litigation and litigation in state courts.
The Knauf Entities first entered their appearance in the MDL litigation on July 2, 2009. Thereafter,
the Court presided over a bellwether trial in Hernandez v. Knauf Gips KG, Case No. 09-6050,
involving a homeowner’s claims against KPT for defective drywall. The Court found in favor of
the plaintiff family in Hernandez, issued a detailed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law, and
entered a Judgment in the amount of $164,049.64, including remediation damages in the amount
of $136,940.46—which represented a remediation cost of $81.13 per square foot based on the
footprint square footage of the house.
Subsequently, the Knauf Entities agreed to institute a pilot remediation program utilizing
the remediation protocol formulated by the Court from the evidence in Hernandez. The Knauf

2

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pilot remediation program is now completed and more than 2,200 homes containing KPT Chinese
drywall have been remediated using the same general protocol. At the Court’s urging, the parties
began working together to monetize this program and make it available to a broader class of
plaintiffs.
On December 20, 2011, the Knauf Entities and the PSC entered into a global, class
Settlement Agreement (“Knauf Settlement Agreement”), which was designed to resolve all Knaufrelated, Chinese drywall claims. In addition to the Knauf Settlement Agreement and after a jury
trial in a bellwether case, numerous defendants in the chain-of-commerce with the Knauf Entities
entered into class settlement agreements, the effect of which settles almost all of the Knauf
Entities’ chain-of-commerce litigation. The total amount of the Knauf Settlement is approximately
$1.1 billion. Thereafter, additional claims were filed against Knauf and others, as in the instant
case.
III.

SUGGESTION OF REMAND
The instant suggestion of remand involves claims asserted by Plaintiffs who did not

participate in the Knauf settlement. After managing this MDL for ten years, the Court concludes
that the purpose behind consolidating these related actions in this Court have now been served.
The Court has addressed numerous discovery disputes, dispositive motions, and other pretrial
issues involving facts and legal questions common to the various cases in this MDL proceeding.
No further pretrial motions raising common questions are pending in these cases, and remand to
the transferor court appears to be in the interest of judicial efficiency and fairness to the parties.
This suggestion of remand relates to Elizabeth Bennett, et al. v. Gebr.
KnaufVerwaltungsgesellschaft, KG, et al., No. 14-2722 (“Bennett Complaint”). On November 13,
2014, Elizabeth Bennett filed suit in the Northern District of Alabama on her own behalf and on

3

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behalf of a nationwide class of similarly situated homeowners who allegedly suffered damages
due to defective Chinese drywall in their homes. The Plaintiffs raised claims against the Knauf
Entities for negligence, negligence per se, strict liability, breach of express and/or implied
warranty, redhibition, violations of the Louisiana Products Liability Act, private nuisance,
negligent discharge of a corrosive substance, unjust enrichment, violations of consumer protection
laws, and equitable and injunctive relief and medical monitoring with respect to the manufacture
of allegedly defective Chinese drywall. In January 2015, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict
Litigation transferred the case to the Eastern District of Louisiana and consolidated it with the In
re Chinese Manufactured Drywall Liability Litigation, MDL 09-2047, currently pending before
this Court. Upon learning that twenty-three Bennett plaintiffs planned to appeal the Court’s Orders
and Reasons granting summary judgment against them, the Court severed these cases so as not to
delay the instant suggestion of remand. R. Doc. 22967.
Given the extensive motions practice that has occurred in this MDL, the Court finds it
appropriate to transfer the remaining Bennett cases to the transferor court. See Attachment A. This
Court recognizes that parties may still need to conduct some discovery before trial. Nevertheless,
this discovery is case-specific, so it should be supervised by the transferor court. This Court has
worked diligently for the past ten years, and transferor court and parties are now equipped with
abundant resources to steer these cases to a fair and just conclusion. In particular, this Court has
denied class certification of the purported Bennett class action. R. Docs. 22528. At this point in
the litigation, centralizing these cases has minimal benefit to parties; local courts are well-suited
to evaluate the losses incurred by the Plaintiffs.
V.

CONCLUSION

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Based on the foregoing reasons and pursuant to Rule 10.1(b)(i) of the Rules of the Judicial
Panel on Multidistrict Litigation, the Court SUGGESTED that the remaining Bennett cases listed
in Attachment A be remanded to the transferor court for further proceedings. The Court submitted
this suggestion to the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation by means of the attached letter. See
Attachment B.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

New Orleans, Louisiana, this 18th day of December 2020.

____________________________________
ELDON E. FALLON
United States District Judge

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Bennett - Active Claims
Claimant
Robert & Stephanie Amuso
Carl & Lynn Russell
Elizabeth Bennett
Jennifer & William Brady
Hoan Bao & Hanh Bich Thi Tran
Damian & Leslie Marie Cason
David & Dahnelle Reynolds
Ike & Nancy Ijemere
Jason Scott
Katie & Jason Hallmark
Booker & Terri Lee
Michael & Becky Chedester
Olivia & Les Porciuncula
James Blevins
John & Rebecca Judge
Cesar & Ines Jaramillo
Abigail Cohen
Anjali Van Drie
Edward Laremore
CDO Investments, LLC
MCF Enterprises, Inc.
Christopher & Julianne Kopach
Marie Y. Lorquet
Vince & Rose Russo
Glenn & Yvette Price
Fred Pool & Raquel DeFigueiredo
Matthew Tabacchi (Allstate Servicing, Inc.)
Sharon & Albert Timmons

Address

9461 Ambrose Lane
Kimberly, AL 35091
5427 Creekside Lane
Hoover, AL 35244
102 Morningwalk Lane
Huntsville, AL 35824
2089 Knollwood Place
Birmingham, AL 35242
1008 Washington Court
Moody, AL 35004
124 Arbor Hill Lane
Huntsville, AL 35824
101 Spotted Fawn Road
Madison, AL 35758
7012 Eagle Point Trail
Birmingham, AL 35242
149 Silo Hill Road
Madison, AL 35758
775 Ridgefield Way
Odenville, AL 35120
3258 Clubhouse Road
Mobile, AL 36605
10955 West Brighton Drive
Chunchula, AL 36521
339 SW Wilton Avenue
Palm Bay, FL 32908
2636 SE 19th Place
Cape Coral, FL 33904
2618 50th Street West
Lehigh Acres, FL 33971
5301 Nicklaus Drive
Winter Haven, FL 33884
20305 Chestnut Grove Drive
Tampa, FL 33647
4101 NW 22nd Street
Cape Coral, FL 33993
7018 Pilgrim Court
Labelle, FL 33935
25409 Durango Court
Punta Gorda, FL 33955
8554 Pegasis Drive
Lehigh Avenue, FL 33971
20318 Chestnut Grove Drive
Tampa, FL 33647
284 James Circle
Lake Alfred, FL 33850
9800 Quinta Artesa Way
Ft. Myers, FL 33908
1751 Bobcat Trail
North Port, FL 34288
14531 Coronado Drive
Spring Hill, FL 34609
13430 NE 30th Court
Anthony, FL 32617
1820 NE 7th Avenue
Cape Coral, FL 33909

District Court
Northern District of Alabama
Northern District of Alabama
Northern District of Alabama
Northern District of Alabama
Northern District of Alabama
Northern District of Alabama
Northern District of Alabama
Northern District of Alabama
Northern District of Alabama
Northern District of Alabama
Southern District of Alabama
Southern District of Alabama
Middle District of Florida
Middle District of Florida
Middle District of Florida
Middle District of Florida
Middle District of Florida
Middle District of Florida
Middle District of Florida
Middle District of Florida
Middle District of Florida
Middle District of Florida
Middle District of Florida
Middle District of Florida
Middle District of Florida
Middle District of Florida
Middle District of Florida
Middle District of Florida

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Bennett - Active Claims
Tobi & Kennetth Butcher
Byron & Fern Robbins
Ed Ball & Margot Gravel

4020 Island Lakes Drive
Winter Haven, FL 33881
421 Chelsea Place Avenue
Ormond Beach, FL 32174

Middle District of Florida

2464 Silver Palm Road
North Port, FL 34288

Middle District of Florida

Mark & Sheri Rigopoulos

3411 24th Avenue NE
Naples, FL 34120
Joseph & Susan Niemiec
6881 Brompton Drive
Lakeland, FL 33809
Frederick & Jessica Stockton
13095 Montego Street
Spring Hill, FL 34609
Tim Hoffman
624 NE 2nd Place
Cape Coral, FL 33909
Ina & Gary Helmick
13237 Emerald Acres Avenue
Dover, FL 33527
Leonard & Loretha Armstrong
121 11th Avenue East
Bradenton, FL 34208
Mercedes & Nicole Gaspard
1402 O'Donnell Lane, SE
Port St. Lucie, FL 34983
Steve Binns
1417 SW Devera Avenue
Port St. Lucie, FL 34953
Martin Kuntz
1417 SW Devera Avenue
Port St. Lucie, FL 34953
Jackelyn Aquirre-Matat / o.b.o Home and
3310 NE 3 Dr.
Land, Inc.
Homestead, FL 33033
Karina Martinez
23631 SW 112 Ct.
Homestead, FL 33032
Ruben Dapena o.b.o. Annetta, LLC & Baco 363 NE 30th Avenue
Annetta LLC
Homestead, FL 33033
Santiago Guzman o.b.o Skyline Glass, LLC 10769 NW 81 Lane
Doral, FL 33178
Daniel & Shona Blonsky
8220 SW 60 CT
South Miami, FL 33143
Elena Kendalll & A&B Real Estate Holdings, 23205 SW 217 Avenue
LLC
Miami, FL 33031
Isidro & Marfelia Calderon
3441 SW Haines Street
Port St. Lucie, FL 34953
Elvis Ferrera
22079 SW 88 Path
Cutler Bay, FL 33190
Julio Martinez
14731 SW 34 Lane
Miami, FL 33185
Levi Taylor
4090 SW Kallen Street
Port St. Lucie, FL 34953
Carlos Salabarria
12940 SW 135 St.
Miami, FL 33186
Dolores Jarvis
1743 North Olivia Drive
Avon Park, FL 33825
Bruno Esteban Ullauri Paredes & Karina
5952 SW 102 St.
Jannine Svoboda Straka
Pinecrest, FL 33156
Kevin Karpel
Laura Veira & Aliesky Santiago
M and M the Closers, LLC (Mark Floman)

17770 64th Place North
Loxahatchee, FL 33470
14763 SW 35 Lane
Miami, FL 33185
1924 SE 21st Court
Homestead, FL 33035

Middle District of Florida

Middle District of Florida
Middle District of Florida
Middle District of Florida
Middle District of Florida
Middle District of Florida
Middle District of Florida
Southern District of Florida
Southern District of Florida
Southern District of Florida
Southern District of Florida
Southern District of Florida
Southern District of Florida
Southern District of Florida
Southern District of Florida
Southern District of Florida
Southern District of Florida
Southern District of Florida
Southern District of Florida
Southern District of Florida
Southern District of Florida
Southern District of Florida
Southern District of Florida
Southern District of Florida
Southern District of Florida
Southern District of Florida

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Bennett - Active Claims
Michael & Karma Zelenenki)
Nancy & William Mansour
Neville Marques
Rennie & Amrita Roopchand
Michelle & Michael Goldenberg
Christopher Payton
Sherwood & Jody Bailey o.b.o. Carlisle
Place, LLC & Michael Christovich
Susyn Cain & Richard Calevro
David & Candace Fozard
The Van Tran
& Chin Thi Nguyen
Mary Sue Caranna
Yulunda (Karen) McAlister & Stephanie
Fussell
George & Mary Ann Ferry
Jack & Wanda Green
Mark & Shannon Renee Lee
David & Birttany Martino
George Humphries III & George Humphries
IV
Nancy & Larry Lafontaine
Peggy A. & Billy McCullar
Wade & Sheryl Gauthreaux
Karen Beth & David Neil Baldwin
Frank & Suzan Grande/CJ Properties

4331 Ferrari Drive
Sebring, FL 33872
8678 Tally Ho Lane
Royal Palm Beach, FL 33411
1722 NE 6th Street
Boynton Beach, FL 33435
15320 87th Road North
Loxahatchee, FL 33470
12176 SW 49th Court
Cooper City, FL 33330
19 Money Hill Lane
Poplarville, MS 39470
829 East Scenic Drive
Pass Christian, MS 39571
5040 Georgia Street
Bay St. Louis, MS 39520
72685 Diamondhead Drive North
Diamondhead, MS 39525
12912 Rosemont Street
Ocean Springs, MS 39564
224 Pinewood Drive
Pass Christian, MS 39571
229 Felicity Street
Bay St. Louis, MS 39520
101 Lakeside Drive
Waveland, MS 39576
1709 Seacrest Drive
Gautier, MS 39553
308 Italian Isle Road
Gautier, MS 39553
245 McDonnell Blvd., F-138
Biloxi, MS 39531
11209 Texas Street
Bay St. Louis, MS 39520
478 St. Charles Street
Bay St. Louis, MS 39520
603 East Second Street
Pass Christian, MS 39571
10171 Lagan Street
Bay St. Louis, MS 39520
909 High Ridge Drive
Friendswood, TX 77546
7 Nevin Court
Conroe, TX 77301

Southern District of Florida
Southern District of Florida
Southern District of Florida
Southern District of Florida
Southern District of Florida
Southern District of Mississippi
Southern District of Mississippi
Southern District of Mississippi
Southern District of Mississippi
Southern District of Mississippi
Southern District of Mississippi
Southern District of Mississippi
Southern District of Mississippi
Southern District of Mississippi
Southern District of Mississippi
Southern District of Mississippi
Southern District of Mississippi
Southern District of Mississippi
Southern District of Mississippi
Southern District of Mississippi
Southern District of Texas
Southern District of Texas