National Gypsum says federal lawsuit dropped

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A federal lawsuit filed against Charlotte-based National Gypsum has been dropped, according to a statement from the drywall manufacturer.

The plaintiff — Yee v. National Gypsum, et al. — voluntarily dismissed his class action lawsuit, which was filed against the company in October 2009, according to a press release from National Gypsum. The case had been pending in U.S. District Court.

“While we are pleased with the outcome of this case, we are hardly surprised,” said Craig Weisbruch, senior vice president of sales and marketing for National Gypsum. “Throughout this litigation, we have never doubted the quality and safety of our gypsum wallboard and were confident we would be fully exonerated. Our wallboard has passed the industry’s most rigorous testing and certification processes for indoor air quality and has been used by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Green Building Council in their buildings.”

National Gypsum denied the claims made in the lawsuit, which alleged that the company manufactured defective drywall that emitted high levels of sulfur, damaged items inside homes and caused health problems.

The claims were similar to those made by homeowners with defective Chinese drywall, complaints about which popped up all over the Southeast after Hurricane Katrina destroyed thousands of homes, many of which were rebuilt using Chinese drywall.

“We have not seen any reliable evidence that our gypsum wallboard poses any of the issues associated with defective Chinese drywall,” Weisbruch said.