Why I’m joining law suit
Hundreds of homeowners want a legal case brought over cladding, reports Rob Stock.
Midwife Clair Kirby is used to keeping her emotions in control in the most stressful of moments.
But she is reduced to tears speaking of the leaks in her home, which she blames on the Shadowclad cladding made by Carter Holt Harvey (CHH).
Kirby is one of several hundred homeowners to sign up for the ‘‘book build’’ of a possible class action law suit against the building product manufacturer, by entrepreneurial Auckland lawyer Adina Thorn - an action Carter Holt Harvey says it will defend.
‘‘We’re not young anymore. We’re heading towards retirement, and we’ve lost pretty much whatever equity we had in the house,’’ Kirby said.
‘‘We basically have a piece of land and a property that’s only worth the land value. You are stuck in a situation where you either have to remediate, or you sell at a loss.’’
If they do sell at a loss, they will be left with mortgage debt and no house. They’d never be able to buy again, Kirby said.
She bought the two-storey, three-bedroom house in the rapidly-growing town of Pukekohe near Auckland with her partner Steve, a nurse, in 2010. It was just three years’ old. Soon after they moved in, leaks started in the garage, which they thought was a roofing issue, but as more of the Shadowclad cladding warped and pulled away from the house frame, letting water in, they realised they had joined the legion of homeowners in leaky buildings.
’’There’s a lot of splitting of the boards, a lot of delamination. Boards that should be straight now curve outwards, or they have a wave effect to them, and that’s generally all over the house,
We've lost pretty much whatever equity we had in the house. Clair Kirby.
certainly where the prevailing weather is,’’ Kirby said.
Luckily, the property does not yet have a mold problem.
Thorn said the merits of the class action lawsuit, should it go ahead, turn on the suitability of Shadowclad as a building product.
‘‘Carter Holt Harvey absolutely deny all allegations against it. This case really turns on this board, and whether this board works or doesn’t work.’’
‘‘Building surveyors say the glue breaks down, they split apart, warp, and water gets in,’’ said Thorn. ‘‘This is exactly the same claim the Ministry of Education are suing Carter Holt Harvey for in relation to 880 school buildings across New Zealand.’’
Kim Shannon, head of education infrastructure at the Ministry said that case was still progressing.
‘‘We are waiting to be notified of a court-ordered case management conference, which we anticipate will be in the next two months,’’ Shannon said.
‘‘For over 25 years, Carter Holt Harvey has been proud to manufacture and supply Shadowclad cladding product to the New Zealand market,’’ Carter Holt Harvey said in a statement.
‘‘Recently, Adina Thorn, an Auckland based lawyer, has been appealing to owners of buildings clad in Shadowclad to register interest in a potential class action against CHH. This is surprising because Adina Thorn has never sought to discuss concerns about Shadowclad with CHH.’’
‘‘Carter Holt Harvey believes Shadowclad is fit for purpose. However, if consumers have any concerns about Shadowclad they should contact CHH directly, so that it can investigate the issue and identify the cause of the problem,’’ it said.
‘‘CHH always acts responsibly to repair and/or replace any product that is subject to a manufacturing defect.’’
‘‘To date, no legal proceedings have been commenced by Adina Thorn against CHH.’’
‘‘CHH will defend a class action if one is pursued.’’