Chinese suppliers could disregard drywall suits

The thousands of homeowners and builders who’ve sued Chinese makers of defective drywall should keep their expectations low. Attorneys for these plaintiffs acknowledge that Chinese companies have a history of disregarding judgments in U.S. civil courts, and the noxious-smelling drywall fiasco will likely yield the same result. Kerry Miller, the lead lawyer for the defendants, represents U.S. homebuilders, drywall installers and distributors, and Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin, the only Chinese firm to acknowledge the litigation. He, too, said other Chinese companies will probably not respond to the suits. This reality has left opposing attorneys scrambling to find out who could be held liable in any future drywall settlements.