Chinese drywall has driven Bill Morgan into bankruptcy and foreclosure.
The James City County resident whose home was built with the defective drywall will tell his story Wednesday to a U.S. House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on consumer protection.
He will testify in favor of the Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act of 2010. The law would make it easier to hold foreign manufacturers accountable in U.S. courts for defective and hazardous products.
“Living in this country, we can’t sell substandard products. We’d be shut down in a day,” Morgan said in an interview Tuesday.
“There needs to be some accountability, from our government, from China’s government.”
Morgan was one of seven homeowners who were awarded a total of $2.6 million in damages in April in a lawsuit against a Chinese drywall manufacturer.
The manufacturer failed to respond to the lawsuit until last week, when it filed a notice that it would appeal the default ruling.
It’s unclear whether the seven homeowners will see any money.
It will be costly to gut the homes of the defective drywall and corroded electrical components. Most builders and insurance companies are unwilling to foot the bill, and the government hasn’t provided grants.
“Basically, I want to tell them what our family’s been through and see what they can do to bring us help,” said Morgan, a 53-year-old retired Newport News master police detective.
About 3,400 reports have surfaced in 37 states of homes made with drywall that emits sulfur fumes and causes corrosion. Some exposed to it have claimed it damaged their health.
The defective wallboard has been discovered throughout Hampton Roads, including in several Hollymeade homes in Newport News.
Morgan was flooded out in Hurricane Isabel in 2003, when he lived in Poquoson. He received help then because of a disaster declaration that brought federal assistance.
The Chinese drywall problem doesn’t fit neatly into the definition of “disaster” but that’s exactly what it is, he said.
“It’s been 14 months, and I’m no better today than I was 14 months ago,” Morgan said.
“We’re struggling every day. We keep hearing rhetoric, but we have not seen substantial help from anyone. I’m just optimistic that we can bring some attention to it and hopefully get some help for all the families that are affected by this.”
For now, he’s living in a rental. Buying a home is out of the question for now.
“That’s a tough question. I’m 53 years old, and basically my wife and I would be a young couple starting from scratch. I don’t know how we’ll be able to buy a home,” he said. “It would be nice to do it, but I’m not optimistic at this point.”
As a police officer, he has testified in court before. Today will be different.
“Something of this magnitude, of this level, sure, it’ll be a long night,” he said Tuesday, “and I’ll be happy when it’s over with.”
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