A court-ordered supplemental notice program began today in the court-approved settlement involving Weyerhaeuser brand hardboard siding. The notices, which are in addition to notices that appeared three years ago, inform those who own or previously owned properties with the siding that if they have qualified claims for siding damage, the first deadline for claim forms is approaching.
Before approving the settlement in December of 2000, the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco issued notices that appeared nationally in magazines, as well as in newspapers and on radio stations. At that time, the Court's notice plan also called for supplemental notice in the third year after approval of the settlement. The claims deadline is December 22, 2003 for siding installed between January 1, 1981 and December 31, 1987.
Notices will appear in more than 100 newspapers in several "Key States" defined in the Court's notice program: California, Colorado, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Texas, Arizona, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Minnesota, and Louisiana.
The settlement established a claims process to pay money for valid claims for certain damage to siding, including thickness swell, surface welting, buckling, sponginess, physical degradation, surface welting, delamination, edge checking, wax bleed, and raised or popped fibers. Siding damage caused by improper building design or installation is excluded. There is a compensation formula to determine how much money, if any, claimants are entitled to receive.
The settlement includes current and former owners of structures in the United States on which Weyerhaeuser brand hardboard siding was installed from January 1, 1981 through December 31, 1999. The December 22, 2003 deadline is only for siding that was installed up until December 31, 1987. The settlement provided that the later the siding was installed, the more time people have to file a claim. Those with siding installed between 1988 and 1993 have until 2006 to file a claim. Those with siding installed between 1994 and 1999 have until 2009.