In re Ready-Mixed Concrete Antitrust Litigation

Checks for the third distribution related to valid claims previously filed with the claims administrator for In re Ready-Mixed Concrete Antitrust Litigation mailed on May 20, 2011. On May 6, 2011 the Court entered the Order Approving De Minimis Threshold for Distribution of Settlement Funds. As a result, beginning with the current distribution all payments must meet a minimum threshold of $1.00 (the “De Minimis Threshold”) to be paid. The De Minimis Threshold will apply to future distributions of the remaining installment payments due from the Builder’s Defendants, if and when such funds are received; should your claim fall below the De Minimis Threshold in any future distribution calculation you will not be given additional notice nor will you receive a check.

The secondary distribution check mailing took place the week of October 4, 2010.

Class Counsel is pleased to announce that the initial distribution checks mailed on May 28, 2010, to all Settlement Class Members that filed a valid claim with the Claims Administrator. If you have questions about your check or you did not receive a check and would like additional information, please contact the Claims Administrator at 800-983-6033 or by sending an email to info@ConcreteAntitrustSettlement.com. Please allow at least 10 days for delivery due to the Memorial Day holiday.

UPDATE CONCERNING CLAIMS PROCESS

In order to expedite distribution of the New Settlements, any recovery from Builder’s, and any other money obtained for the class in this case, the Court has decided to allow the amounts of class members’ purchases determined from the prior claims process to be used as the presumptive amounts for determining distributions of money from the New Settlements and from Builder’s.

1. If you previously submitted a Claim Form there is no need to take any additional action in order to receive a share of the New Settlements and any money recovered from Builder’s. The amount of Qualifying Purchases, as determined by the Claims Administrator based on your prior Claim Form, will be used to determine your proportionate share of any future distributions in this case. If you wish to submit additional or corrected information for consideration by the Claims Administrator, you may amend your Claim Form. Call 800-983-6033 for details on how to amend your Claim Form.

2. If you did not previously submit a Claim Form in this matter and you wish to be eligible to receive a share of the New Settlements and any money recovered from Builder’s, you must complete a Claim Form and return it to the Claims Administrator postmarked no later than July 25, 2010.

IF YOU HAVE NOT SUBMITTED A CLAIM FORM POSTMARKED BY JULY 25, 2010, YOU WILL BE FOREVER BARRED FROM RECEIVING MONEY FROM ANY SETTLEMENTS OR A JUDGMENT IN THIS CASE.

If you have not already filed a Claim Form, please contact the Claims Administrator at 800-983-6033 or by email to to request a personalized Claim Form be sent to you via First-Class Mail or email. A generic Claim Form is also available for download on this site, click here for more information.

SPECIAL NOTICE REGARDING “CLAIMS FILING SERVICES”

If you were contacted by, or entered into an agreement with, a company named Lex Group, National Equity Settlement Services, or any other third-party claims filing service, you should be aware that the Court has entered an Order declaring that any contract between these companies and any potential Settlement Class Member is void and without effect as there is no benefit being provided by these companies with regard to filing claims for this Action that is not already available by contacting the Court-approved Claims Administrator, A.B. Data.

If you would like to view the most recent Court Order related to National Equity Settlement Services, click here.

If you have questions about this litigation or the claims process, or believe you may be a Class Member but have not received notices or a Claim Form, please contact the Claims Administrator at 800-983-6033 or email .

SETTLEMENT WITH BUILDER’S CONCRETE & SUPPLY, INC. (“BCS”), GUS B. (“BUTCH”) NUCKOLS, III, AND JOHN J. BLATZHEIM (COLLECTIVELY THE “BUILDER’S DEFENDANTS”)

A Settlement has been reached between the Plaintiffs in In re Ready-Mixed Concrete Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 1:05-cv-00979-SEB-JMS (the “Lawsuit”) and Builder’s Concrete & Supply, Inc. (“BCS”), Gus B. (“Butch”) Nuckols, III, and John J. Blatzheim (collectively the “Builder’s Defendants”), and the proposed Settlement Class has been certified by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana (the “Court”). The Settlement includes BCS’s subsidiaries and affiliates. The Court has appointed the Plaintiffs to represent the Settlement Class and their attorneys as Class Counsel. This is a partial settlement, and does not conclude any claims against Defendants other than the Builder’s Defendants.

Under the terms of the Settlement, the Builder’s Defendants are required to deposit $5.5 million (the “Settlement Amount”) into a Settlement Fund in several installments. The first installment, in the amount of $115,000, shall be paid no more than five (5) days after the Effective Date. The second installment, in the amount of $1 million, shall be paid on or before December 31, 2010 or five (5) days after the Effective Date, whichever is later. Subsequent installments, each in the amount of $1.1 million, shall be paid on or before December 31, 2011, December 31, 2012, December 31, 2013, and December 31, 2014. In the event the Builder’s Defendants fail to make any of the required payments, the Builder’s Defendants consent to the Court’s entry of a Judgment against them, and in favor of the Settlement Class, in the amount of Ninety-Four Million, Six Hundred Fifty Thousand, Two Hundred Eighty-One Dollars ($94,650,281).

If you are a member of the Settlement Class, your legal rights are affected whether you act or choose not to act. PLEASE READ THE NOTICES CAREFULLY. YOU MAY DOWNLOAD A COPY OF THE BUILDER’S CONCRETE NOTICE BY CLICKING HERE.

YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS AND OPTIONS (YOU MUST CHOOSE ONE OF THESE OPTIONS)		DEADLINE
EXCLUDE YOURSELF	You may exclude yourself from the Settlement, in which case you will not be eligible to receive any payments from the Settlement that are approved by the Court, or to comment on the Settlement. This is the only option that allows you to be part of any other lawsuit against the Builder’s Defendants about the legal claims brought, or which could be brought in this case.	DEADLINE HAS PASSED
DO NOTHING	If you choose to do nothing you will remain eligible to receive any payments from the Settlement that are approved by the Court. This will result in a release of any right you may have to pursue the legal claims brought, or which could have been brought in this case against the Builder’s Defendants, but will not result in a release of any right you may have to pursue the same legal claims against the other Defendants.	N/A
OBJECT	Write to the Court if you do not think the Settlement is fair. If you exclude yourself from the Settlement you may not object.	DEADLINE HAS PASSED
GO TO A HEARING	If you object, you may also ask to speak in Court about the fairness of the Settlement.	AUGUST 17, 2010

These rights and options – and the deadlines to exercise them – are explained in the Notice available on the Builder’s Concrete page of this website.

GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE CASE OVERALL

This case was filed on behalf of a proposed Class consisting of all persons who purchased Ready-Mixed Concrete from Irving Materials, Inc; Prairie Material Sales, Inc.; Builder’s Concrete & Supply, Inc.; Shelby Gravel, Inc., d/b/a Shelby Materials; American Concrete Company, Inc; Hughey, Inc., d/b/a Carmel Concrete Products; or MA‑RI‑AL Corporation d/b/a Beaver Materials Corporation (the “Defendants”), which was delivered from a facility in the Counties of Boone, Hamilton, Hancock, Hendricks, Johnson, Madison, Marion, Monroe, Morgan, or Shelby, in the State of Indiana (the “Central Indiana Area”) during the period from and including July 1, 2000, through and including May 25, 2004 (the “Class Period”).

Plaintiffs allege that Defendants participated in an unlawful conspiracy to raise, fix, maintain, or stabilize the price of Ready-Mixed Concrete in the Central Indiana Area at artificially high levels, in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act, Title 15, United States Code, Section 1, and that this unlawful price-fixing practice caused members of the proposed Class to pay artificially high prices for Ready-Mixed Concrete during the Class Period.

SETTLEMENTS TO DATE

Settlements to be Included in the Initial Distribution

Partial settlements totaling $5,068,000 between the Plaintiffs, individually and on behalf of the Class, and Defendants American Concrete Company, Inc. (“American”), and Shelby Gravel, Inc. (“Shelby”) were approved by the Court on April 4, 2008. The settlement with American provides for American’s payment of $368,000, and the settlement with Shelby provides for Shelby’s payment of $4,700,000.

A settlement in the amount of $19,000,000 was been reached with Southfield Corporation f/k/a Prairie Material Sales, Inc., and its former employee Gary Matney (collectively “Southfield”), and approved this settlement as fair, reasonable, and adequate in after a hearing on July 18, 2008. This settlement resolves any claims the Settlement Class has with regard to Southfield Corporation’s subsidiary Southfield Concrete LLC f/k/a Hoosier Concrete LLC and other Southfield Corporation subsidiaries and affiliates.

Settlements to be Included in the Second Distribution

A settlement was reached in the amount of $29,000,000 Irving Materials, Inc. (“IMI”), Fred R. (Pete) Irving, Daniel Butler, John Huggins and Price Irving (collectively “IMI Defendants”). The settlement includes IMI’s parents, subsidiaries and affiliates. The Court has preliminarily approved the Settlement. The deadline to exclude yourself or object to the settlement expired on February 8, 2010, and the Court will hold the Fairness Hearing on March 29, 2010, to determine if the settlement will be approved. You may review the entire Notice available for download by clicking here for further details on the settlement, your rights, and the Fairness Hearing.

Settlements to be Included in Later Distributions

Partial settlements totaling $575,000 were reached between the Plaintiffs, individually and on behalf of the Class, and Defendants Beaver and the Hughey Defendants and the Court has preliminarily approved the settlements. The deadline to exclude yourself or object to the settlements passed on April 2, 2010 and the Court approved these settlements at the Fairness Hearing May 17, 2010. You may review both the Beaver Notice by clicking here or the Hughey Notice by clicking here for further details on the settlements, your rights and the Fairness Hearing.

The final Defendant, Builder’s Concrete, has reached a settlement with the Plaintiffs in the amount of $5,515,000 over a period of five years. The Court will hold the Fairness Hearing on August 17, 2010, to determine if the settlement will be approved. You may review the Builder’s Concrete Notice by clicking here for further details on the settlements, your rights and the Fairness Hearing.

CONTACT INFORMATION

The Court has appointed Cohen & Malad, LLP, and Susman Godfrey LLP as Class Counsel for this litigation. For additional information, please contact:

Irwin B. Levin, Esq.
COHEN & MALAD, LLP
One Indiana Square, Suite 1400
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Telephone: 317-636-6481