Townhall Meeting in Umatilla/Tavares – Same Stories, Different People

Last night, June 10, 2009, the law firm of Roberts & Durkee held another town hall meeting trying to answer questions about toxic Chinese drywall. This time, the meeting was held for residents of the Umatilla / Tavares area. It was a different location but the looks on the faces of the victims were the same. The look of confusion and devastation. The faces of the people who have had their lives turned upside down by this defective product. I heard familiar stories from people huddled around a hotel meeting room looking for answers.

I heard from a fellow who had built his own home and had invested his life savings into his home. Unfortunately, the home was built with Chinese drywall. This defective product has now caused the same types of problems that have plagued other homeowners throughout the state. I met another fellow who has investment properties in South Florida who was looking for someone to help inspect his homes.

Along with the same complaints and symptoms, I heard familiar questions. They wanted to know about whether their homeowners insurance would cover for this problem, they wanted to know whether they have any recourse against their builder if their builder has filed for bankruptcy, they wanted to know why this happened and why the government did not do more to protect them, they wanted to know what to do next to seek justice.

We stayed in this meeting room until well past nine o’clock in the evening discussing these and various other issues. In the end, the victims left the room better informed. They were told how to identify the problem and how to take action. Knowledge is power and knowledge provides these victims with some glimmer of hope.