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Lennar Corp., involved in a class-action lawsuit, says it did not use Chinese drywall in Fredericksburg-area homes. |
Area builders and drywall providers say Chinese-made drywall has not been used in Fredericksburg-area houses.
Chinese drywall has been making national news of late after hundreds of U.S. homeowners have complained that it smells and emits gasses that make people sick. Most of the claims have been filed in Florida and New Orleans.
Homebuilder Lennar Corp., which is building homes in Spotsylvania County's Lee's Parke subdivision, disclosed Monday that it has been named in a class-action lawsuit filed in Florida on behalf of people who bought homes with Chinese drywall that were built during the boom.
Bob Krieff, division president for Lennar in Virginia, said Chinese drywall has not been used in any of Lennar's Virginia homes. He said it appears to be a Florida-only problem for Lennar.
In Florida, Lennar has
Florida's health department has said it will begin testing the air quality in homes to determine whether the material can make people ill. Estimates indicate the drywall may be in more than 100,000 homes, more than 35,000 in Florida alone.
Harvey Gold, director of government affairs for the Fredericksburg Area Builders Association, said none of the association's builders he's checked with have reported using the Chinese drywall. He's also checked with local governments, and no problems have been reported.
Executives for Ashton Innovations and Chatham Construction Co. Inc., which are two of the Fredericksburg area's bigger drywall installers, both said they do not and have not used Chinese drywall.
--The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Bill Freehling: 540/374-5405
Email: bfreehling@freelancestar.com
