L-P To Settle Siding Lawsuits

One of the nation’s largest wood-product companies will pay at least $275 million to settle allegations that its siding, installed on about 800,000 homes in North America, turns soggy in wet weather, under an agreement approved Monday.

The class action lawsuit says Louisiana-Pacific Corp.’s InnerSeal siding, which resembles cedar but is made of wood chips and resin covered with resin-soaked paper, soaks up moisture, swelling and cracking.

Under terms of the deal, any homeowner whose siding becomes damaged over the next seven years would be able to dip into the $275 million settlement fund for the cost of replacing the material.

U.S. District Judge Robert Jones accepted the deal Monday