Court Orders Consumer Fraud Lawsuit Against Louisiana-Pacific Corporation over Nature Guard Shingles to Proceed to Trial as Class Action.SAN FRANCISCO -- A California judge ordered today that a class action lawsuit class action lawsuit A lawsuit in which one party or a limited number of parties sue on behalf of a larger group to which the parties belong. For example, investors may bring a class action lawsuit against a brokerage firm that has actively promoted a tax against Louisiana-Pacific Corporation ("L-P") (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :LPX LPX Louisiana Pacific (stock symbol) LPX Leipzig Power Exchange LPX Low Profile Extended LPX Long-Pulse Experiment LPX Low Profile Extension ) alleging that its Nature Guard shingles are defective and that it defrauded homeowners will proceed to trial as a class action. Judge William A. Mayhew of Stanislaus Superior Court in Ceres denied L-P's motion to decertify de·cer·ti·fy tr.v. de·cer·ti·fied, de·cer·ti·fy·ing, de·cer·ti·fies To revoke the certification of: voted to decertify the union. the class. The case was brought by Ceres resident Virginia Davis on behalf of approximately 5,300 homeowners in January 2001. Plaintiffs seek as damages the cost of replacing all of the roofs, estimated to be approximately $100 million, plus punitive damages Monetary compensation awarded to an injured party that goes beyond that which is necessary to compensate the individual for losses and that is intended to punish the wrongdoer. . Trial is set to commence December 6, 2005. Plaintiffs allege that the Nature Guard shingles -- a cement and wood fiber shingle which L-P manufactured and sold as a replacement for cedar shingles between 1995 and 1998 -- are inherently defective, are prematurely failing, and do not live up to the promises L-P made to homeowners in brochures and its 25 year warranty. L-P has denied the allegations. The case was originally certified as a class action in November 2002, and the Court has rejected several prior attempts by L-P to have the case thrown out of Court. "We are pleased by the Court's ruling, and look forward to putting our case in front of a jury and finally getting some relief for these homeowners," said Jonathan D. Selbin, a partner with Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, LLP LLP - Lower Layer Protocol , a national plaintiffs' law-firm and co-lead counsel for plaintiffs. "Mrs. Davis and the thousands of homeowners like her whose roofs are failing are just seeking to hold L-P to the promises it made to them and to get their roofs fixed," said Clint Walker of Damrell, Nelson, Schrimp, Pallios, Pacher & Silva, also co-lead counsel for plaintiffs. More information can be found at the official case website, www.natureguardsuit.com, or by visiting http://www.lieffcabraser.com/natureguardsuit.htm. |
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