Please note this is not the usual response my someday-husband has in such situations. However, this time the wood is bad and is causing many Katrina survivors in the Lower 9th Ward a lot of stress. See, Brad has a huge heart-on for the area and a charitable organization, Make It Right, dedicated to helping. Due to a less-than-honest lumber manufacturer, Brad Pitt has wood, sues for $500,000.
Brad, through Make It Right, spearheaded the building of 109 eco-friendly homes near the Claiborne Avenue Bridge, beginning in 2008. The homes were designed with outdoor decks for the residents. Make It Right chose TimberSIL, an ecologically sound lumber with a baked-in, rot-resistant glass barrier to prevent rot. The TimberSIL was guaranteed to last for 40 years.
Sadly, it looks like TimberSIL might have screwed hubs-to-be. Make It Right has had to replace rotting decks on 39 of the 109 homes. Make It Right’s top-notch construction crew started finding mildew as early as 2010. Residents began reporting serious deterioration and the decks had to be torn out and replaced with non-ecologically friendly, chemically treated, weather-resistant wood. This came at an average cost of over $12,000 per home.
The suit was originally filed in March in Orleans Parish Civil District Court. Make It Right chose to purchase from TimberSIL as it fit well with the organization’s values, specifically, long-term recycling. TimberSIL had no residual chemicals, which made it safe to chip and use for mulch at the end of it’s useful life as timber. The problem is that the product failed to deliver on its guarantee.
Make It Right was able to get TimberSIL representatives to tour the neighborhood. However, TimberSIL still hasn’t taken responsibility for its defective product. Brad’s charity is arguing that “Defendant’s course of irresponsible, unresponsive and duplicitous conduct resulted in substantial monetary and reputational damage to Make It Right, and imposed further inconvenience and stress upon displaced Lower Ninth Ward victims of Hurricane Katrina … .”
No court date has been set as of this writing. I’ll keep you posted as information becomes available. After all, my man’s wood is at stake!
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