FROM:
Stephen Gibbons, Assistant District Attorney

CONTACT PERSON:
Robin Wakshull, Deputy District Attorney
Consumer Protection Unit
(408) 792-2584

For release on December 7, 2005

CONSUMER PROTECTION LAWSUIT SETTLED WITH QUIKRETE  

District Attorney George Kennedy today announced that his office joined with the District Attorneys of Ventura, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Orange, Monterey, Fresno, Riverside, and Tulare Counties in resolving a civil action against Quikrete of Northern California, LLC, and Quikrete of Southern California, LLC,  manufacturers and distributors of masonry, cement and sand products. The civil complaint and stipulated final judgment were filed in Ventura County Superior Court on December 7, 2005. Without admitting wrongdoing or liability, the two Quikrete companies consented to entry of a final judgment that includes injunctive provisions and the payment of $275,000 in civil penalties and costs to the investigating and prosecuting agencies.

The multi-county complaint alleges that both Quikrete-North and Quikrete-South produced and sold masonry products that were short-weight and did not contain the true net weight of product represented on the packages. For those products, consumers did not receive the amount of product represented on the package or the amount for which they paid. The case was initiated and investigated by inspectors from the California Department of Food and Agriculture Division of Measurement Standards and the Department of Agriculture and Division of Weights and Measures from numerous counties throughout the state. Upon initial contact by the district attorneys’ offices, the Quikrete companies have purchased new equipment and revised quality control measures to improve the weight accuracy of their products.