Product Class Actions

Building Products Litigation

Donaldson/GUIN has filed numerous class actions against building product manufacturers. David Guin served as Class Counsel in Sebago v. Beazer East, Inc. and others alleging that manufacturers of a commercial roof insulation product leached acids that can corroded metal roof decks. The plaintiffs’ claims withstood the defendants’ motions to dismiss (see 18 F.Supp.2d 70 (D. Mass. 1998)), and after an additional two years of litigation, the case has settled.

David Guin was also Class Counsel in Coleman v. GAF Building Products Corp., in the Circuit Court of Mobile County, Alabama. That national class action alleged that GAF’s roofing shingles prematurely failed. The settlement pays both original and subsequent owners of GAF-shingled properties for certain labor and materials replacement costs.

Mr. Guin was Co-Lead Counsel in Bettner v. Georgia-Pacific, in the Circuit Court of Mobile County, Alabama, a national class action alleging that G-P’s hardboard siding prematurely rots. The case settled in July of 1997 with G-P’s agreement to reimburse all eligible class members for the costs necessary to remove and replace their defective siding. The defendant’s liability under the settlement is estimated to be in the tens of millions of dollars.

Mr. Guin was Class Counsel in Sandpiper Cove Condominium v. Louisiana Pacific Corp. in the U.S. District Court in Oregon. This national class action alleged that L-P’s Inner Seal “oriented strand board” siding prematurely rots. The case settled in 1996 for what is now estimated to be a minimum payout of $500 million. Guin served on the negotiating team that structured this settlement, which has been modeled in many other consumer cases.

Dangerous Products

David Guin was Class Counsel and a member of the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in In re Telectronics Pacing Systems, Inc., 186 F.R.D. 459 (S.D. Ohio 1999). This nationally-certified Multi District Litigation class action alleged that defective heart pacemaker lead wires are prone to fracture, subjecting patients to the risk of heart muscle tears and lacerations. The case recently settled for over $90 million. Click here to read the remarks about Mr. Guin and other Class Counsel by the trial judge.

In re Copley Pharmaceutical AAlbuterol@ Product Liability Litigation, 158 F.R.D. 485 (W.D. Wy.1994); 161 F.R.D. 485 (1995). Mr. Guin was appointed by the Court to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in this national MDL class action against the manufacturer of a bronchodilator medication that had been contaminated with dangerous bacteria. After 42 days of trial, the case settled in 1996 for approximately $150 million.

In Woodward v. Nor-Am Chemical Co., 1996 WL 1063670 (S.D. Ala. 1996), a case involving numerous plaintiffs’ lawyers who have filed class actions that were consolidate before a single judge, Mr. Donaldson was appointed to be one of three members of the Plaintiffs’ Executive Committee in this nationwide class action on behalf of workers exposed to an insecticide that was withdrawn from the market when studies indicated that it might cause an increased risk of bladder cancer. The 1997 settlement, which was valued in excess of $50 million, established a medical monitoring program designed to foster early cancer detection and a disease compensation fund designed to provide payments to victims.