FEMA Litigation

IN THE NEWS...

December 3, 2010

Bob Hilliard Named to Plaintiffs' Steering Committee in FEMA Litigation

Bob Hilliard, founding partner of Hilliard Muñoz Gonzales LLP, is one of eight attorneys that has been selected to the Plaintiffs’ Steering Committee in the FEMA Trailer Formaldehyde Products Liability Litigation.

Mr. Hilliard has been actively involved in litigation regarding the trailers supplied by the Federal Emergency Management Agency to hundreds of thousands of Gulf Coast residents following Hurricane Katrina back in 2005.

He was one of the trial attorneys involved in the first case to be tried in the MDL Toxic Trailer Litigation (FEMA Trailer Formaldehyde Products Liability Litigation) back in October 2009.

The trailers have been shown to emit dangerous levels of formaldehyde, a gas known to cause cancer.

In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) distributed 120,000 trailers to families along the Gulf Coast who were left without homes. In 2007, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) conducted air quality tests of more than 500 of the trailers and found that the average levels of fomaldehyde found in the trailers measured 77ppb (parts per billion), significantly higher than the 10 to 17 ppb concentration seen in newer homes. Formaldehyde is an invisible gas that is known to cause cancer as well as other illnesses ranging from nose bleeds to chronic bronchitis.

Hilliard Muñoz Gonzales L.L.P. currently represents approximately 30,000 FEMA plaintiffs who have suffered due to these so-called “toxic” trailers. Mr. Hilliard was also one of the attorneys who participated in the first case to be tried in the MDL Toxic Trailer Litigation (MDL No. 1873, In Re: FEMA Trailer Formaldehyde Products Liability Litigation) and served as one of the trial counsel in the bellwether trials (trials frequently used in cases involving similar claims in product litigation to determine if they result in similar outcomes)—(1) Alexander v. Gulf Stream Coach, (2) Wright v. Forest River, (3) Castanel v. Recreation by Design, (4) Lewis v. Gulf Stream Coach (upcoming September 2010.

If you or a loved one live or have lived in a FEMA trailer and have suffered serious health problems as a result of the toxic chemicals in the trailers, you may be entitled to compensation. Please call Hilliard Muñoz Gonzales L.L.P. at (361) 882-1612 today.