Some roofs defective before hailstones fell
$75 million paid so far for faulty shingles made until 2005.By: Chris Mueller, The Daily Republic
- Re-roofing
More...
Although many local property owners have been focused on their roofs since a May 5 hailstorm battered homes and businesses in Mitchell, some may have been entitled to compensation for roof repairs before the first hail stone fell this spring.
CertainTeed Corp., a Pennsylvania-based building materials manufacturer, reached a class action settlement in December 2009 with representatives in a lawsuit who claim certain shingles the company produced and sold for almost 18 years are defective. According to a website that outlines the settlement, some organic asphalt shingles manufactured by CertainTeed between July 1, 1987, and 2005 have been found to crack or deform before the product’s warranty period expires.
The settlement covers the entire United States and Canada, but the company reports 94 percent of the shingles in question were sold in Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
The shingles in question were sold under the brand names Hallmark Shangle, Independence Shangle, Horizon Shangle, Custom Sealdon, Custom Sealdon 30, Sealdon 20, Sealdon 25, Hearthstead, Solid Slab, Master Slab, Custom Saf-T-Lok, Saf-T-Lok and Custom Lok 25. Not all shingles sold under those brand names will qualify, as the Hallmark, Independence and Horizon brands were sold in both organic and fiberglass varieties. Only organic shingles qualify for the settlement, the website says.
No cause for the premature failure of the shingles has been determined, according to CertainTeed spokesman Michael B. Loughery.
The amount paid out to those who qualify for a settlement depends on the extent of the damage, the terms of the warranty and length of time the shingles have been in use.
Anyone who qualifies for a settlement is required to submit a claim to CertainTeed, along with a sample of a damaged shingle and photographs of the damaged shingles on the roof.
Between October 2010 and September 2011, CertainTeed paid more than $75 million to 61,639 people who qualified for damages as a result of the settlement, court documents say. A report with updated payment figures will be issued by the company in November, Loughery said.
Detailed information on the settlement is available at certainteedshinglesettlement.com.
Tags: weather, news, updates, shingles, courts, lawsuit, hail, local, mitchell
More from around the web
RSS Feeds