Shingle Maker Sued In Pennsylvania
Homeowners In Deforest Have Had Problems With The Company’s Product.
Wisconsin State Journal :: BUSINESS :: E1
Friday, August 4, 2006
MARV BALOUSEK (608) 252-6135
A class-action lawsuit has been filed in Pennsylvania against CertainTeed Corp., the maker of Horizon brand roof shingles that some DeForest homeowners have had problems with.
The lawsuit, filed in Erie County, charges that CertainTeed “maliciously concealed or suppressed the facts” regarding its shingles “with the intent to defraud.”
Similar lawsuits against CertainTeed will be filed in Wisconsin and Minnesota later this month, said Clayton Halunen, a Minneapolis attorney associated with the case.
“It’s shocking the number of people from throughout the country who are affected by this,” said Halunen, adding that lawyers have identified plaintiffs in 17 states, including at least 50 Wisconsin homeowners.
Halunen said the lawsuit represents all homeowners with failing CertainTeed shingles, although affected homeowners later will be given the opportunity to opt out of it.
Mike Loughery, CertainTeed communications manager, said he could not comment on the lawsuit, but advised homeowners who have problems with the company’s shingles to call 800-345-1145 and receive an information packet on how to file a claim.
Some residents of DeForest’s Sunrise Estates subdivision have replaced their roofs and said CertainTeed’s Horizon Shangle brand shingles failed after about a dozen years even though the shingles carried a 25-year warranty.
“Every single home has the same (brand of) shingles, and they’re all falling apart,” homeowner Nancy Hollis said in May.
Loughery said in May that it could have been a bad batch, or weather could have caused problems with the shingles on the DeForest homes.
The old Horizon Shangle used in Sunrise Estates was made of cardboard covered by asphalt, while the company’s New Horizon shingle uses a fiberglass core, according to area roofing companies.
The lawsuit claims that CertainTeed began manufacturing and selling defective shingles in Pennsylvania and other states about 1987 and that the company failed to test the shingles before putting them on the market.
The shingles “failed prematurely due to moisture invasion, curling, cracking, blistering, deteriorating and otherwise not performing,” according to the lawsuit.
Damages, which can include roofs, underlying felt and drywall inside homes, are less than $75,000 in every individual case, the lawsuit said.
Based in Valley Forge, Pa., CertainTeed has about 7,000 employees and 40 manufacturing plants throughout the nation. Besides shingles, the company also makes siding, insulation, windows, patio doors and other home construction items. CertainTeed is a subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, one of the largest 100 industrial companies in the world.
Source: Wisconsin State Journal: http://www.madison.com/archives/read.php?ref=/wsj/2006/08/04/0608030429.php