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Class action settlement

CertainTeed Organic Shingles Class Action Settlement

Proof or notice ID needed

Owners of buildings roofed with CertainTeed organic shingles may claim up to $74 per square from the settlement, prorated by the warranty remaining.

Who qualifies and how to claim

Consumer · Building Products

What Is This Settlement About?

This settlement resolves In re: CertainTeed Corporation Roofing Shingles Products Liability Litigation, a class action consolidated as MDL No. 1817 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The lawsuit alleged that organic asphalt shingles manufactured by CertainTeed from July 1, 1987 through 2005 are prone to premature failure — including cracking, blistering, splitting, and curling — and otherwise do not perform in line with the reasonable expectations of property owners.

CertainTeed denied any wrongdoing and no longer manufactures organic shingles — every shingle it has sold since 2005 is fiberglass and is not at issue. To resolve the litigation, the company agreed to a settlement that provides enhanced warranty compensation to eligible property owners. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania held its final approval hearing on June 8, 2010, and the settlement's effective date was October 2, 2010. This is a claims-made settlement, so each valid claim is paid under fixed formulas regardless of how many claims are filed — there is no capped fund that runs out. Because the benefit is structured around each roof's warranty, the claims program has remained open for years rather than closing on a single short deadline.

Who Qualifies?

You are a class member if, as of December 15, 2009, you owned a home or other building in the United States or Canada on which the organic shingles were or had been installed; or you owned such a building before that date but kept the right to claim through a valid documented assignment when you sold it; or you settled a warranty claim for the organic shingles with CertainTeed between August 1, 2006 and the settlement's effective date. The covered shingles were sold under organic product lines including Hallmark Shangle, Independence Shangle, Horizon Shangle, Custom Sealdon, Custom Sealdon 30, Sealdon 20, Sealdon 25, Hearthstead, Solid Slab, Master Slab, Custom Saf-T-Lok, Saf-T-Lok, and Custom Lok 25. Several of those brand names were sold in both organic and fiberglass versions — only the organic ones are covered.

Being a class member is not the same as qualifying for a payment. To be paid, your shingles must show "Damage" as the settlement defines it — blistering, clawing, cracking, curling, cold-weather curling, fishmouthing, or spalling — the damage must occur before the warranty period ends, and it must be caused by a product defect rather than improper installation or maintenance. Do not file if your shingles are fine, or if they have been on the building past the end of the warranty period.

CertainTeed's records show more than 90% of these organic shingles were sold in Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, with limited Canadian sales in parts of Ontario and in Winnipeg, Manitoba — so if you are outside those areas, it is less likely your shingles are the ones at issue. Because warranty terms varied by product and installation date, the best way to confirm whether your roof is still eligible is to check the official settlement website.

How Much Can You Get?

There is no flat cash amount. Payments are calculated per "square" — a roofing term meaning 100 square feet of shingles — and are prorated based on how much of the original warranty period remains. Proration means the payment is reduced in proportion to the years of use you have already gotten from the shingles. The notice's example: on a 30-year (360-month) warranty claimed exactly 12 years after installation, 216 of 360 months remain, so the payment is multiplied by 60%.

For an original purchaser (or a subsequent owner whom the warranty still covers) with a valid, in-warranty claim:

  • Within 10 years of installation: $40 per square (not prorated), plus $34 per square prorated for years of actual use.

Documents & history

What has happened

  1. Claim deadline Deadline · upcoming

Documents

Court filings come from the court's public docket through the free RECAP archive; official documents from the settlement administrator's own site. Other dates come from the official settlement site and the summary above. Nothing here is legal advice.

Where this information comes from