Sun City residents sue wood trim product manufacturer

Several Sun City Hilton Head residents are suing the manufacturer and supplier of a wood trim product used in their homes. Their lawyer says the product was installed in hundreds of homes in the gated community.

Jim and Nancy Lancaster, Art and Jeannette Holland, and Wendell and Phyllis Turner claim that PrimeTrim, a fiberboard product manufactured by Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific and sold by Grayco Home Center, is defective, according to an updated complaint filed March 17.

The lawsuit originally was filed in November 2007 in Beaufort County Court of Common Pleas.

PrimeTrim, first manufactured in 1992, is made of processed wood fiber and pre-treated with resin. It's been marketed as an alternative to wood for interior and exterior trim.

The complaint states that PrimeTrim on the couples' homes failed to keep out moisture, leading to "property damage and water intrusion."

"The Sun City people do a great job maintaining their homes, and the product is still not holding up," said the couples' lawyer, Joe DaPore with Charleston-based Young Clement Rivers law firm.

Attorneys representing Georgia-Pacific and Grayco did not return phone calls and e-mails left Friday.

DaPore said he will file paperwork asking the court to hear the case as a class action lawsuit because the product was used in hundreds of homes.

A decision on whether the case will be heard as a class action won't be made until next spring.