I’ve had Kitec come up twice in the last week, which is unusual considering that I don’t really work Sun City.   If you need information on the ongoing Kitec lawsuit, you will want to visit PlumbingDefect.com. Although a tentative settlement has been reached, it’s not over yet. This story has a little more background on the nature of the problem, but what happens is that the Zinc is leached out of the defective brass fittings, eventually causing catastrophic failure. While I hate to link to a site whose purpose is to sell you a solution, you can figure out how to determine if you have a problem at this site.

Update: John Griffith of Plumbing Express contacted me recently to tell me that this matter will be back in court again on January 30, 2009 for a settlement fairness hearing.  He was kind enough to point out this document about the hearing. Many thanks to John for keeping us all up-to-date!

Then you can’t blame the Community Reinvestment Act, passed in 1977.  

You can, however, blame the Bankruptcy Reform that was passed back in 2005. 

Here’s the short version:

Before [Bankruptcy Abuse Reform], any household could file Ch. 7 bankruptcy and have credit cards and other unsecured debts discharged. Sidestepping unsecured debts left more income to pay the mortgage. BAR blocked that maneuver by way of a means test that forces better-off households who demand bankruptcy to file Ch. 13, where they must continue paying unsecured lenders. When the means test binds, cash constrained mortgagors who might have saved their home by filing Ch. 7 are more likely to face foreclosure.

Forcing people to pay bills they couldn’t pay only changed which bills they chose not to pay.  In the Christmas spirit, “Are there no prisons?  Are there no workhouses?”  Bah, Humbug, foreclosure is never fun for anybody.