WASHINGTON — Bipartisan legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate aims to help victims of tainted Chinese drywall hold foreign manufacturers more accountable for their defective products.

The Foreign Manufacturers Legal Accountability Act of 2009 would cut down on the red tape Americans face when they try to sue foreign companies.

Among its stipulations:

* A manufacturer who imports products into the United States would have to have a business representative in at least one state where it does business who could be served on any claims.

* Foreign manufacturers would agree to be held accountable by U.S. courts if sued.

“American businesses and consumers harmed by defective foreign products need justice, and they don’t get it when foreign manufacturers use technical legal defenses to avoid compensating those they have injured,” bill sponsor Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said in a statement.

Sens. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and Richard Durbin, D-Ill., co—sponsored the legislation. The bill is supported by Consumers Union, the American Association for Justice and the Consumer Federation of America.

The impetus for the legislation stemmed from a May Senate subcommittee hearing regarding how to hold foreign manufacturers accountable.

During that hearing, a Mobile, Ala.-based home builder testified about the company’s problems with Chinese drywall and the difficulties it’s had getting a response.

The Mitchell Co. Vice President Chuck Stefan said that 45 of the houses his company built in Alabama and Florida have been found to have the odor-emitting wallboard. Some Chinese drywall gives off a sulfuric odor linked to corrosion of metal components in homes; some homeowners have blamed it for health problems.

Stefan testified that despite spending several months and thousands of dollars trying meet all the stipulations under the Hague Convention – including translating all the legal documents into German and Chinese – he was unable to formally serve notice of his lawsuit to the Chinese and German manufacturers.

“Foreign corporations shouldn’t be able to export their products to our country without following our laws, too,” Anthony Tarricone, president of the American Association for Justice, said in a statement. “This bill ensures foreign manufacturers that profit from our marketplace are also held accountable when their products are defective.”

Source