Gleeson Asphalt wins $109M verdict over misrepresented construction rock

A plaintiff was awarded over $109 million dollars in a business/commercial suit involving the fraudulent misrepresentation of construction materials.

The multimillion-dollar verdict, which included $942,935.95 in compensatory damages and $108.3 million in punitive damages, was handed down by a St. Louis County Circuit Court jury May 15.

The suit came to be after the plaintiff, Gleeson Asphalt, purchased base rock from Lafarge, a company that operates quarries nationwide. Gleeson used the base rock under asphalt, however, the lots failed and had to be remediated.

The plaintiff alleged the defendant misrepresented what type of rock it was — Lafarge said it was “type 5,” a well-known rock in the industry, however it was not type 5. Gleeson claimed Lafarge knew the rock did not meet the proper specs, but called it type 5 anyways.

Gleeson was represented by Kevin M. Carnie Jr. of Simon Law in St. Louis, along with Patrick R. McPhail. The defendant was represented by Matthew Koehler of McCarthy, Leonard, and Kaemmerer in St. Louis.

“I’m just really proud of my client to have the fortitude and strength to stick with this through the end,” Carnie said. “It takes a lot of courage to go through this for so many years.”

Carnie added it verdict was a “long, long time coming” for Gleeson, and that the jury’s punitive damage award sent a “powerful message.

“I think the … punitive damages award is very calculated, very rational. It was one month of profit for this company that we sued … Our client suffered one month loss of revenue as a result of all of this … You could tell the jury wanted to punish the defendant to suffer the same way our client did,” said Carnie. “It sent a very powerful message. We’re very glad the jury saw it that way and hope it discourages that conduct in the future.”

According to Simon Law, this is the fourth nine-figure verdict the firm has secured for its clients in less than two years. The suit was filed in 2019. The trial itself was four days.

Koehler could not be reached for comment.

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Business/Commercial

Amount of verdict: $109,242,935.95

Breakdown and distribution of total value: $942,935.35 in compensatory damages and $108.3 million in punitive damages

Type of action: Business/Commercial

Venue: St. Louis County Circuit Court – Missouri

Case number/date: 19SL-CC01033, 05/15/2025

Caption: Gleeson Asphalt v. Lafarge North America, Inc.

Plaintiffs’ Experts: None

Defendants’ Experts: None

Injuries Alleged: Business, commercial, economic

Last pretrial demand: $925,000

Last pretrial offer: $170,000

Plaintiff’s Attorneys(s): by Kevin M. Carnie Jr. and Patrick R. McPhail of Simon Law in St. Louis

Defendant’s Attorney(s): Matthew Koehler of McCarthy, Leonard, and Kaemmerer in St. Louis