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