On January 7, 2015, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) ordered that six putative class-action lawsuits stemming from Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, North Carolina and Ohio will be venued and centralized in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. New Jersey was selected to handle this MDL litigation matter because the primary defendant/manufacturer of the outdoor decking material at issue, GAF Materials Corp., is headquartered in Wayne, NJ. The cases are consolidated before U.S. District Court Judge Jose Linares in Newark. The number of nationwide suits subject to the consolidation order is expected to at least double.
The claims at issue involve an outdoor decking product manufactured by GAF. One of the class representatives, Thomas McGovern, installed the subject decking at his vacation house in Mackinac Island, Michigan in 2009. The decking almost immediately began to warp and stain when exposed to the elements. The condition of the material was so bad that it had to be completely replaced two years later. The claims involve violations of applicable consumer protection laws, breach of warranty and unjust enrichment, and relate primarily to the defective product itself rather than improper installation.
GAF is represented by Quinn Emanuel in New York. Insofar as GAF has not filed a motion to dismiss any of the actions, it looks like these MDL cases are headed into full-blown litigation.