CohenMalad Wins $59 Million in Central Indiana Ready-Mixed Concrete Price-Fixing Settlements

Between January 2000 and May 2004, several central Indiana ready-mixed concrete suppliers coordinated to fix prices charged to contractors, builders, and other direct purchasers in the Indianapolis metropolitan area. The scheme artificially inflated costs across the construction sector for more than four years before a federal criminal investigation exposed it. Irving Materials Inc. (IMI), based in Greenfield, Indiana, was the largest participant. In December 2005, four former IMI executives received prison sentences, and IMI was hit with a $29.2 million criminal fine, one of the largest antitrust penalties in Indiana history. Federal investigators estimated the company had earned roughly $225 million during the scheme.

The criminal convictions opened the door for civil class-action litigation. Construction companies and other buyers who had purchased ready-mixed concrete from the conspiring suppliers at inflated prices brought suit in federal court. Irwin Levin of Cohen and Malad in Indianapolis was appointed co-lead class counsel, working alongside Stephen Susman of Susman Godfrey in Houston. The case was assigned to Judge Sarah Evans Barker in the Southern District of Indiana.

Before the IMI settlement was finalized, three other defendants resolved the claims against them. Prairie Material Sales, an Illinois-based company, agreed to pay $19 million. AmericanConcrete Co. of Indianapolis and Shelby Materials of Shelbyville settled as part of a combined $24.4 million package. Attorneys requested $8.13 million in fees on those earlier settlements, roughly one-third of the recovery, plus $1.9 million in litigation expenses.

IMI settled separately for $29 million. Judge Barker granted preliminary approval of that settlement in December 2009, with a final approval hearing scheduled for March 29, 2010. The combined value of all seven defendants' settlements reached approximately $59 million.

The case illustrated how civil antitrust class actions can follow criminal prosecutions to deliver additional recovery to the businesses harmed by price-fixing. Class members, primarily contractors and builders in the central Indiana counties served by these plants, received compensation from the settlement fund after attorneys fees and costs were deducted.