Polybutylene Plumbing Pipes

Polybutylene piping and fittings were subjects of class action law suits across the country (20-30 per defense admission) after some 15,000 individual suits (valuing about $160,000,000), additional Fleming and insurance subrogation suits filed as late as 1998. They are problematic materials with a history of failures, period. These materials may also provide a point of contention with your insurance company. Hmmm, wonder why? Polybutylene is the grey piping you see inside your house or in the attic. There were several “generations” of this stuff. The first generation time frame was from about 1978 to 1983. It included Acetyl (uh see tul) plastic fittings with aluminum crimp rings. When they realized this just wasn't working, the second generation which ran from approximately 1982-1988, still used the acetyl fittings but incorporated copper crimp rings. When they realized that just wasn't working, the third generation which ran from about 1988 to 1995, used copper fittings and copper crimp rings. When they realized that just wasn't working, well there was no fourth generation, it was just no longer used. Some believe that only the first two generations with the plastic fittings, were the problematic ones. I believe if this were the case, the law suits would not have included the latest generation, makes common sense to me. The authors of polybutylene.com put it this way, “the distinction is one of bad vs worse, not good versus bad”. Repipenews.com says, “Failures may occur in systems with plastic fittings, metal fittings, and manifold-type systems that look fine even to the trained eye.”

Polybutylene was also used as the pipe that ran from the water meter, usually near the street, to the house. It was usually blue in color and had similar behavior and pattern of failures.

You may still claim for compensation as long as your system was installed in 1995 or before. First of all to be qualified as a claimant, systems must have been installed between January 1, 1978 through July 31, 1995. There is a billion dollar fund for qualified claimants, leaks and damage. Remedies include actual cash value for damages to tangible property from leaks, reimbursement of out of pocket expenses from leaks, and in some cases replacement of the PB Plumbing System or Yard Service line. The home must incur a leak to be eligible for

recovery. Verification of a leak can be in the form of plumbing repair receipts, work orders, photographs of the leak and/or repair and the actual failed part of the PB Plumbing System. I have been told that if your home was purchased after 1999, that the Spencer law suit would provide a 10% rebate. I guess that's better than nothing at all.

A leak means any verifiable failure in any component of a PB Plumbing System leading to unwanted discharge of water exclusive of (1) a leak in the first year of any applicable warranty period provided by the unit's builder, contractor or manufacturer (2) a leak resulting from abuse of such system or circumstances unrelated to ordinary use of such system, including acts of nature (e.g. earthquake, fire, flood, hurricane, tornado, etc.) (3) a leak that may be repaired without cutting the wall in or at (a) a valve, or (b) a riser (which is the connecting line from a shut-off valve to a fixture) or an adapter to a fixture and (4) a leak in an ice-maker line.

CPRC, Inc. (Consumer Plumbing Recovery Center) may be reached at 1-800-392-7591 or by logging on to PB Pipe. Plumbing Express, a turnkey repipe specialist company also offers expert advice and information. They can be reached at 1.888.875.4797 or by logging on to Polybutylene.