California
Jurors Affirm Dryvit Position On
Outsulation
Jury affirms barrier EIFS
(Outsulation®) is a viable,
high-performance cladding product and
strongly rejects plaintiff claims of
product defect (West Warwick, Rhode
Island) Dryvit Systems, Inc., the
world’s leading manufacturer of
Exterior Insulation & Finish Systems
(EIFS), today announced that a jury, in a
persuasive 11-1 decision that required
fewer than three hours to deliberate,
rejected plaintiff claims that
Dryvit’s Outsulation System, which
was installed on the Columbine Townhouse
in California was defective or that
Dryvit was negligent in any
way.
“This verdict fully supports what
we and tens of thousands of homeowners
have known to be true for more than three
decades: that Outsulation is an
outstanding, high performance cladding
system that has passed the test of time
and offered thousands of homeowners
innumerable benefits,” said Peter
Balint, President and CEO of Dryvit
Systems, Inc. “We are gratified
that a group of twelve men and women
listened closely to the testimony,
reviewed the evidence and arrived at the
same conclusion that thousands who are
familiar with the product have already
concluded: defective construction
practices do not mean a defective
product.”
About the case
In Columbine Place Homeowners Association
v. Dryvit, the plaintiff sued Dryvit on
behalf of 18 owners of town homes located
in Modesto, CA. The case was heard in the
Superior Court of the State of
California, Stanislau County and presided
over by Judge Girolami.
At trial, the plaintiffs claimed that
Dryvit’s barrier EIFS product,
known as Outsulation, was defectively
designed and was defective because it was
sold with inadequate warnings. The
plaintiffs also claimed that Dryvit
negligently designed and tested
Outsulation, that it negligently trained
applicators of Outsulation and that it
negligently failed to disclose material
facts to users of Outsulation. Plaintiffs
sought more than $2 million as
compensation for water damages to their
homes and to remediate what they
characterized as “toxic
mold.”
After a trial that lasted more than three
weeks, the jury reviewed the evidence and
the judge’s instructions and
deliberated for less than three hours and
returned an 11 to 1 verdict in favor of
Dryvit.
About the Company
Outsulation is the brand name of the
Dryvit barrier EIF system that has been
sold in the United States since 1969 and
is presently in use on more than 300,000
commercial and residential structures
around the world. The product was first
invented in Germany in the post World War
II years as an economical and energy
efficient solution to the reconstruction
of the war-ravaged region.
For more information about Outsulation
systems or any other Dryvit systems or
products, contact Dryvit Systems, Inc.,
One Energy Way, West Warwick, RI 02893;
call toll-free at 1-800-556-7752; or
visit us on the web at
www.dryvit.com.?
Courtesy of RDW Group