MANATEE — WCI Communities Inc. says it built at least 200 homes, probably including some in Manatee County, using allegedly defective drywall imported from China.

The Bonita Springs homebuilder, now operating in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, also estimates it will face up to $40 million in drywall-related claims and has agreed to set up a trust to help homeowners as part of its reorganization plan, court records show.

“To date, and subject to further investigation and confirmation, the debtors have identified approximately 200 homes sold by the Debtors that may contain Chinese drywall,” WCI said in a disclosure statement filed July 2 in federal bankruptcy court in Delaware.

The $40 million in potential drywall claims is quadruple the $11 million WCI had set aside in January.

The statement offered no specifics, and a WCI spokeswoman did not immediately return a phone call Wednesday.

But several homeowners in Waterlefe Golf and River Club say they have the drywall, which has been blamed for emitting foul odors, corroding air conditioner coils and causing headaches, difficulty breathing and other health problems.

The 11 homeowners, who are concentrated on Fish Hook Cove, joined hundreds of others in Florida in negotiating with WCI to set up a trust for their benefit.

The trust, if approved as part of WCI’s reorganization plan, would have the power to sue insurers and drywall manufacturers, distributors and suppliers for homeowner damages and remediation costs. WCI would give the trust $900,000 in seed money and a small ownership stake in the reorganized company.

“We believed strongly that these homeowners should have a stake in the outcome of the new WCI,” said Mike Ryan, a Fort Lauderdale attorney who represents a separate group of Florida homeowners.

A hearing to confirm the reorganization plan is set for Aug. 26.

WCI’s findings are similar to those of Lennar Corp., another Florida homebuilder grappling with Chinese drywall. The Miami company, which is developing the Heritage Harbour project in Manatee, said earlier this month that it had found the product in about 400 Florida homes it built and was setting aside $39.8 million for remediation.

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