THE PLAIN DEALER
MAY 14, 1994

Suit seeks $10 million from concrete firm

By BILL SAMMON
PLAIN DEALER REPORTER

A $10 million class-action lawsuit accuses Medina Supply Co. F providing defective concrete to more than 1,000 Northeast Ohioans who had driveways poured within the last year.

Medina Supply says it has the best concrete in the business and will fight the suit rather than pay for the driveways.

"There's a heck of a lot of driveways out there that were laid with this concrete that are . . . popping and deteriorating," said lawyer Patrick J. Perotti of Dworken& Bernstein Co., which filed the lawsuit Wednesday in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. "Any homeowner would be appalled to pay for something new and then to have it look like it's falling apart."

Medina Supply has hired lawyer David a. Kutik, a partner at Jones Day Reavis & Pogue, to fight the lawsuit.

"It's highly doubtful that there are 1,000 people wh are having problems with their driveways and whose concrete was supplied by Medina Supply," Kutik said.

Kutik acknowledged that some driveways made of Medina Supply concrete fell apart several months after being paved. But those homeowners should not expect reimbursement, he said.

"I'm not sure it is reasonable to expect that Medina Supply should be held responsible for any of them," Kutik said. "I don't know whose fault it is. Maybe no one's. Maybe Mother Nature's."

Kutik was referring to the unusually harsh weather of last winter. But several concrete experts have said the winter merely served to expose quality control problems in an industry that enjoyed a string of mild winders until last year.

Kutick disputed that theory.

"Medina Supply takes extraordinary measures - probably the leader in this area - to make sure it makes product of uniform quality that meets the highest specifications," he said.

Medina Supply officials have said some of the concrete might have failed because it was improperly poured by pavers. But Perotti disagreed.

"We have not sued them (the pavers) because the problem is with the concrete," he said.

In addition to seeking $10 million for the driveways, the suit asks for unspecified legal and accounting fees. It lists only one plaintiff, Mark Blumenthal of Solon, but anyone whose concrete was supplied by Medina Supply is entitled to share in any settlement, Perotti said.

Blumenthals' Seneca Dr. driveway has deteriorated in the year since it was poured, Perotti said. Blumenthal declined comment.

Medina Supply dominates the residential concrete market in Northeast Ohio, but many other suppliers also are facing complaints from residents whose driveways fell apart. A total of 1,500 driveways have been affected, officials estimated.

This is the first lawsuit against Medina Supply regarding the concrete failure, but it may not be the last. Two dozen pavers have hired lawyer John Manos to seek more than $1 million from Medina Supply for failed driveways. Manos said the pavers would sue if Medina does not pay.

The Ohio attorney general's office is investigation the widespread concrete failure.