IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

No. 20-30120

IN RE: CHINESE-MANUFACTURED DRYWALL PRODUCTS LIABILITY 

LITIGATION

_______________________________

GUILFORT DIEUVIL,

Plaintiff - Appellant

v.

GEBRUEDER KNAUF VERWALTUNGSGESELLSCHAFT, KG; 

KNAUF INTERNATIONAL GMBH; KNAUF INSULATION GMBH; 

KNAUF UK GMBH; KNAUF AMF GMBH AND COMPANY, KG;

KNAUF DO BRASIL, LIMITED; PT KNAUF GYPSUM INDONESIA; 

KNAUF GIPS KG; KNAUF PLASTERBOARD TIANJIN COMPANY, 

LIMITED; KNAUF PLASTERBOARD WUHU COMPANY, LIMITED; 

GUANGDONG KNAUF NEW BUILDING MATERIAL PRODUCTS 

COMPANY, LIMITED,

Defendants - Appellees

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Eastern District of Louisiana

Before JONES, HIGGINSON, and OLDHAM, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:

This appeal stems from the ongoing Chinese-Manufactured Drywall 

Products Liability Multi-District Litigation. In a recent unpublished opinion, 

this court dismissed a similar appeal because the appellant had waived his 

United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

FILED

May 20, 2020

Lyle W. Cayce

Clerk
No. 20-30120

2

appellate rights in a class settlement agreement. See In re ChineseManufactured Drywall Prod. Liab. Litig., 794 F. App’x 387, 389 (5th Cir. 

2019). We dismiss this appeal for the same reason and publish this opinion to 

avert further fruitless attempts at appellate review.

Appellant Guilfort Dieuvil joined the MDL in 2013, alleging his home 

contained defective Chinese-manufactured drywall. Dieuvil is subject to a 

class settlement agreement (the “New Claims Settlement Agreement”) that 

details the process for resolving claims against appellees the Knauf 

Defendants1 in the MDL. As part of that process, the district court awarded 

Dieuvil over $300,000 in damages. Dieuvil appeals the award, and the Knauf 

Defendants move to dismiss.

As we previously recognized, the New Claims Settlement Agreement 

expressly states that “[a]ny dispute under this Agreement shall be presented 

for resolution to the MDL court” and “[t]he MDL’s determination shall be final 

with no appeal.” Id. (emphasis added). The New Claims Settlement 

Agreement incorporates another agreement that has a similar waiver of 

appellate rights. These explicit waivers clearly and unequivocally waive 

Dieuvil’s right to appeal. See id.; see also 15A Charles Alan Wright et al., 

Federal Practice & Procedure § 3901 (2d ed. 2012) (“The most likely occasion 

for waiver arises from a settlement agreement that calls for resolution of some 

disputed matter by the district court, coupled with an explicit agreement that 

the district court decision shall be final and that all rights of appeal are 

waived.”).

1 The Knauf Defendants include appellees Knauf Plasterboard (Tianjin) Co., Ltd.; Knauf 

Plasterboard (Wuhu) Co., Ltd.; Guangdong Knauf New Building Material Products Co., Ltd.; Knauf 

Gips KG; Gebr. Knauf Verwaltungsgesellschaft KG; Knauf International GmbH; Knauf Insulation 

GmbH; Knauf UK GmbH; Knauf AMF GmbH & Co. KG; Knauf Do Brasil Ltd.; and Pt Knauf Gypsum 

Indonesia.
No. 20-30120

3

Accordingly, the Knauf Defendants’ motion to dismiss for lack of 

jurisdiction is GRANTED and the appeal is DISMISSED.