THE PLAIN DEALER
MARCH 3, 2002

Supplier to give refund, replace faulty concrete

SARAH HOLLANDER
Plain Dealer Reporter

A local concrete supplier has agreed to give refunds to homeowners who used its concrete for driveways over a 16-month period ending in 1994.

Medina Supply Co. will give a mix of money and new concrete to those customers to settle an 8-year-old class-action lawsuit alleging it supplied watered-down concrete that didn't hold up.

Affected homeowners have until May 21 to apply.

People who haven't already replaced their driveways will get $500 and a voucher for up to eight cubic yards of concrete Those who have replaced their driveways will get 1,000.

Medina Supply never admitted liability, but decided to compromise rather than continue racking up legal bills, said David Kutik, the company's lawyer.

"Economically, it's the smartest thing for them to do," he said.

Kutik estimates that a couple of hundred people will respond, although the class-action lawyer, Howard Rabb, thinks at least twice that many qualify.

The main problem was with "Scaling," when the top layer of concrete flakes off, Rabb said. He blamed too much water in the concrete, a problem he attributed to cost-cutting by the company.

Kutik said the contractors, not Medina Supply, determined the ratio of ingredients in the concrete. Harsh winter weather and improper paving techniques by contractors also contributed to the problem, he said.

To participate in the settlement, approved by Cuyahoga Common Pleas Judge Kathleen Sutula, homeowners must prove that their concrete came from Medina Supply between Jan.1, 1993, and May 24, 1994, and that it had scaling problems.

The settlement includes $355,000 in attorney's fees and $70,000 in expenses.

For more information, call Dworken & Bernstein Co., the plaintiff's lawyers, at 440-352-3391. Claim forms must be postmarked by May 21.