DEFINITIONS
When it Depends what the Meaning
of "is" is
By "failure" we mean the
inability of a roofing product to pass a Re-Sale
Inspection with a Five Year Certification.
By "premature failure"
we mean
the occurrence of failure before the end of
the manufacturer warranty period.
By "defective" we
mean roofing materials, products or designs that have a history of failing prematurely.
By "history" of failure
we do not
mean there is 100% failure rate or that
the majority of products fail prematurely.
Due to the nature of the roofing industry, the limitations of
warranties and the fact that many Americans move
every
5 to 7 years, many (or most) premature failures are NOT reported as
warranty claims and, therefore, it's impossible
to track the exact percentage of premature product failures.
A "pattern" of shingle failure
establishes a
history. [1]
By "pattern" of failure we
mean the repeated occurrence of certain
conditions that have resulted in product
failure.
In asphalt shingles, conditions
that typically result in a "pattern" of
premature failure
include (but are not limited to):
excessive granular loss, brittleness, cracking and splitting,
blistering, curling and buckling, sealing,
fungus, etc.
By "widespread" we
mean premature failures occurring over large
geographic areas or across the country.
By "pervasive" we
mean premature failures occurring throughout
many different types/brands of shingles.
By "documented failure" or "documented
claim" we mean existence of reports which
record a failure of roofing
or the request for warranty compensation for a product failure.
The "document" recording the failure is most
often,
although not necessarily, in written form and could be maintained
by a roofing contractor, a homeowner, agents for
the homeowner, the product manufacturer or others. Documented
records do not mean "confidential records" and,
at no time are these terms to be understood as representing
"confidential" information provided by
CertainTeed.
By "confidential information or
records" we mean information or records
which were disclosed, under seal,
during any legal proceeding and are not a matter of public
record. SRB has not, and will not ever,
disclose any
"confidential" information and specifically we will not disclose
"confidential" information provided by
CertainTeed. [2]
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[1] At least one major
asphalt manufacturer (CertainTeed) already
admitted it does NOT track shingle performance.
In fact, CertainTeed cannot
provide one example - not even one - of shingles
lasting 30 years in the Seattle area.
We're not aware of ANY shingle
manufacturer that monitors actual performance of
its products - amazing isn't it?
Without tracking performance there's no way to
determine the percentage of shingles failing
before 15 years,
it could be 75% or higher and
there would be no record. Even if a
manufacturer identified that 80% of warranty
claims for
premature failures were filed before shingles
are 15 years old, that still would not establish
the actual
percentage of defective
shingles sold - because we don't know the number
of failures which were never claimed.
[2] Disclosing information
that Presidential Shingles (or any other
shingle) from CertainTeed have failed
prematurely
or that CertainTeed has
processed claims for (these) defective shingles
is NOT disclosure of any "confidential"
information. The
premature failure of CertainTeed shingles,
including Presidential shingles, is a matter of
public
record. Likewise, the
warranty claims (and the class action lawsuits)
resulting from these premature failures is
just a matter of public record.
CertainTeed is currently negotiating the largest
Class Action settlement (600 million) in the
history of roofing...
involving shingles which
CertainTeed sold over a period of almost 30
years! Disclosure that CertainTeed has
a history of selling defective
shingles is hardly "confidential information"
and disclosure that CertainTeed has
a history, a very long history,
of paying claims for defective shingles is
hardly some "confidential information."
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