In the global economy construction materials are available from numerous countries at very competitive costs. During the protracted building boom after 2001, when the price of building materials soared and global demand was at an all-time high, building products from China, including drywall, made their way into the American market.

Early estimates suggest that 70,000 or more homes may have been constructed using these materials and that costs to repair and remediate damages could potentially exceed tens of millions of dollars.

Now, plaintiffs' attorneys across several U.S. states have filed putative class action lawsuits alleging that certain drywall products manufactured in China contain toxic levels of sulfur and sulfide gases. These lawsuits name the manufacturer of the drywall products as well as the builders, contractors, and distributors who handled and installed the materials. The plaintiffs allege that the contaminated drywall creates a "rotten egg-like" odor and that gases produced by the drywall purportedly corrode air conditioning and refrigeration coils, expedite deterioration of electrical wiring, and create an environment where extended exposure to the gases can cause adverse health conditions.

This Marsh article discusses insurance coverage that may be available to the defendants in the class action lawsuits and analyzes several coverage issues.

Read Drywall Manufactured in China — Risks, Issues and Solutions in its entirety.