FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., March 16, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Florida attorney Mike Ryan has been working to help find relief and solutions for homeowners across Broward County and the State. Ryan, a partner at Krupnick Campbell Malone Buser Slama Hancock Liberman & McKee, has traveled to Tallahassee and Washington, D.C. with homeowners and builders to press elected and agency officials to find meaningful solutions to save communities from this defective drywall catastrophe.
On November 25, 2009, FEMA sent a letter to U.S. Senators explaining what role FEMA could play in this catastrophe. Ryan discovered, "FEMA was essentially blaming the State for failing to start the process for securing emergency help for our homeowners and businesses." On March 10, 2010, finally, the Interim Director of the State of Florida's Division of Emergency Management wrote FEMA requesting "urgent assistance." Quoting from the March 10, 2010 letter, Florida's Interim Director said, "Florida families are suffering deeply and we need your urgent assistance... It is undisputed that Chinese drywall corrodes copper and other metal surfaces, causing the degradation and non-performance of wiring, plumbing, appliances and smoke detectors."
However, just two days later, the Regional Director for FEMA, Major P. May had an assistant sign a letter authored under May's name refusing to provide any FEMA assistance to Chinese drywall homeowners and communities impacted by this disaster. The March 12, 2010 letter explained, "[c]onditions experienced by individuals from a consumer product safety matter, such as degradation of imported drywall, does [sic] not constitute an emergency or major disaster incident..." The letter goes on to encourage the State "to continue working with the CPSC... and to encourage homeowners and municipalities to avail themselves of remedies announced by HUD in December 2009."
Ryan exclaimed in response, "FEMA just doesn't get it. This is not purely a consumer product safety issue. This is a man-made disaster that has wrecked homes and communities. There is simply no prohibition under the FEMA empowering law against helping homeowners and communities during a man-made disaster. What would they do if a dam breaks and thousands of homes are damaged or there is a chemical or biological hazard? Ignore the requests for help or study the science to see if there are any human health affects?"
Ryan went on to outline,"If you go to the FEMA website, you can see all sorts of man-made disasters where FEMA has provided emergency assistance. Grain elevator explosions, dam failures, bridge failures and gas leak explosions are all examples of some man-made problem affecting people and communities who did nothing wrong. Even the Inauguration was declared a disaster and FEMA activated a National Response team."
"But," Ryan added, "equally disturbing is FEMA's decision to push the homeowners back to the CPSC and HUD when there are no available resources to help homeowners. That suggestion alone proves FEMA has no idea what these homeowners and businesses are going through or what resources are available." HUD recently said Community Development Block Grant funds may be available. However, the HUD system requires municipalities to request the funds and they are slow in coming or unavailable based upon income restrictions or have already been used up by the municipalities.
"Now, the Governor has to declare a State of Emergency or force FEMA to engage in some other manner," continued Ryan. "I have seen emails asking 'Is this the Administration's Katrina?' While that is not an entirely fair analogy because of the enormous and tragic loss of life in New Orleans and elsewhere, you can understand the frustration of the homeowners who feel as if they are on their roofs asking for help from this destruction, but no one is listening or coming to help. Insurance companies have refused coverage. The State has not identified any resources for assistance. Banks are foreclosing. Many can not live in their homes and some have been told by doctors to move out. They can not sell or lease the home. Yet, the homeowners are trying to pay their mortgages, taxes and upkeep on the homes. Homeowners simply have no where else to go for help. All the while, FEMA and the State kick the issue back and forth.
"The shelf life on patience I am afraid has run out. The financial futures of families and business are being damaged and are at further risk of destruction. These homeowners are not looking for a handout. They understand there are foreign manufacturers and others who are responsible under the law. But, while the litigation runs its course, families, businesses, and communities are being impacted terribly and in some case permanently.
"Since March of 2009, we have been describing this catastrophe as a 'silent hurricane,' with a path of destruction throughout Florida and the country," said Ryan."In some sense it is worse than a hurricane because there is no insurance and now FEMA and the State are refusing to help."
Ryan summed up, "Simply put, these State and Federal agencies have not done enough in the past 18 months and this latest response is demoralizing. I only hope that some of the elected Congressional and Senate officials call for hearings and demand accountability for this decision process. The highest calling of government is to help those who have done nothing wrong and have tried every other means to fix a problem. It seems those in the Agencies in Atlanta, Washington and Tallahassee have forgotten their true mission. If they are not living up to their responsibilities to the community, they should resign."