PABCO Class Action
On September 15, 2006, Tousley Brain Stephens obtained final court approval of a Class Action Settlement resolving the lawsuit it filed in 2003 against PABCO, a manufacturer of asphalt roof shingles. Eligible homeowners who have or had PABCO HO-25 or HZ-25 roof shingles on their property may now file a claim for one of several forms of payment. Under the Settlement, compensation previously available only to a limited group of Washington consumers through the Washington State Attorney General's Consent Decree (which resolved a similar action against PABCO) has been greatly expanded in scope and more than doubled in value. In contrast to the Attorney General Consent Decree, compensation under this Settlement is available to every qualifying property owner in the nation - including those who are not the original purchasers of the product. This Settlement establishes two core levels of compensation for qualifying Class members: one for Appearance Damage, which is paid at twice the amount homeowners could previously receive; the other for Performance Damage, available for qualifying Class members whose roofs are leaking as a result of failed Shingles, which pays significantly more. Compensation under the Settlement also is available to qualifying Class members who already replaced their roofs. Even qualifying Class members who were already paid under the Attorney General Consent Decree are eligible for an additional payment - despite the releases they already signed.
The Settlement is structured on a "claims-made" basis, with no limit on the number of claims or amount of compensation PABCO will pay for qualified claims under the terms of the claims process. Nor are recoveries diminished in any way to pay attorney fees or costs.
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