A federal jury found that a wood preservative sold to Marvin Windows by PPG Industries did not prevent rot as advertised and ordered PPG to pay $135.8 million in damages, the New York Times reported.
The verdict is another chapter in the eight-year legal battle between the companies. Marvin originally filed suit in 1994, claiming that PPG's PILT wood preservative was defective and that replacing the prematurely rotting windows was costing them tens of millions of dollars. In 1999, a federal judge dismissed Marvin's claims against PPG and Marvin appealed. The following year, a federal appeals court upheld that ruling on 12 of Marvin's 13 claims against PPG, but found that the question of a possible breach of warranty on the part of PPG was significant enough to warrant an examination by a jury. Last February, that jury found a warranty had been breached.
Marvin Windows' spokesperson Brenda Baumann said the company was "pleased" with the verdict, but she added the award would not cover the entire cost of replacing all the rotting windows.
A statement from PPG called the verdict "surprising" and announced their intentions to appeal. The company cites the 20-year history of their PILT preservative as evidence of its effectiveness.
