• Press release explaining the false claims lawsuit against JM Eagle and Formosa Plastics
• Press release that discusses the federal government's decision to decline to intervene at this time in the qui tam case against JM Eagle and Formosa Plastics.
• The second amended complaint (lawsuit) filed against JM Eagle and Formosa Plastics. It provides details about the fraud charges.
• Federal government letter regarding its decision on whether to intervene in the qui tam (whistleblower) case.
• List of the four states and 43 cities and water districts that have joined the whistleblower case against JM Eagle and Formosa Plastics.

News stories

"State and local governments across the country may have to replace their water systems because of defective pipes, according to a whistle-blower lawsuit unsealed this week.

"The whistle-blower, John Hendrix, accuses his former employer, one of the world's largest pipe manufacturers, of falsifying test results about the quality of its products. Pipes that should last 50 years are in some cases rupturing in their very first year, according to Mr. Hendrix and some state documents. This can lead to explosions, leaks, fires and other dangers."

"The lawsuit by former JM Eagle engineer John Hendrix contended that the company violated industry production standards and used low-grade ingredients to produce its PVC pipe, resulting in reduced tensile strength and costly ruptures even on year-old pipes that are advertised to last 50 years.

"'Billions of dollars of this pipe is now in the nation's infrastructure, and it's going to last a fraction of the time it was supposed to last,' said Mary Inman, part of that plaintiff's team of lawyers at San Francisco law firm Phillips & Cohen."

"But now, JM Eagle finds itself in a protracted legal battle that is damaging its reputation and could perhaps cost the plastics powerhouse hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.

Nevada, Virginia, Delaware, Tennessee and 43 municipalities and water districts, including the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, have joined a lawsuit accusing the company of manufacturing poor quality PVC pipe since at least 1997."

"Calleguas General Manager Don Kendall said his district had five major breaks of JM Eagle pipes along Kanan Road from 1999 to 2008, resulting in repairs that cost the district several million dollars.

"'We eventually replaced the entire reach of pipeline because of the uncertainty of when the next break would occur, since they were happening on a more frequent basis,' Kendall said. Calleguas supplies water to most Ventura County residents."