Senate Bill Targets Foreign Corporations That Skirt Federal Safety Standards, Legal System
The Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act of 2011 (S.1946) has been reintroduced in the Senate by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL). Currently, foreign manufacturers are able to evade U.S. laws and safety standards because of the difficulty of holding them responsible in the U.S. court system. The bipartisan bill aims to level the playing field between American and foreign corporations by requiring foreign companies to have a registered U.S. agent that would accept service of process for civil and regulatory claims.
Foreign accountability gained national attention after drywall manufactured in China left American homeowners with millions of dollars in property damage and numerous health problems. This issue was also addressed as part of a hearing held today by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, and Insurance on contaminated drywall manufactured both abroad and here in the U.S.
One of the witnesses, Brenda Brincku of Alva, Florida, shared the hardships her family has faced because of contaminated drywall:
American drywall has destroyed our home. Both American and Chinese drywall have destroyed our landscape business. Many of George’s landscape clients had Chinese toxic drywall in their million dollar homes. Some of our clients that lived in the neighborhoods with Chinese Drywall homes but did not have the defective drywall in their homes felt the toxic drywall homes where bringing down the value of their homes. Both sets of clients decided to stop investing money in their homes and landscaping due to the contaminated Chinese drywall homes. A lot of my husband’s clients have walked away from their million dollar homes since their builder wouldn’t step up to the plate and the legal cases are being dragged out in the court system.
Read AAJ’s full release on the Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act to learn more.
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