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By SHAWN A. TURNER [email protected] Local legal experts expect more class-action law firms to jump on the bandwagon of firms that already have filed suit against National City Corp. for alleged misrepresentation of the beleaguered banking company’s financial condition. So far, firms from coast to coast have filed at least nine lawsuits against National City in seeking to represent as a class investors or employees who have lost money as the company’s stock price has tumbled over the last year. The suits claim National City did not do enough to warn investors of financial woes, including mortgage- related losses, that were looming. “There are going to be many additional cases rising out of the subprime mess,” said Patrick J. Perotti, a partner in the Painesville office of Dworken & Bernstein Co. LPA. His firm currently has a case against National City related to the alleged untimely release of mortgage liens by the bank. National City does not comment on pending litigation, spokeswoman Kelly Wagner Amen said. But she did comment on the increasing number of firms that have filed suit against National City. “There have been a number of plaintiffs’ law firms attempting to take advantage of unprecedented disruption in the mortgage, housing and credit markets,” she said. HOT COMMODITY FINANCE SPECIAL SECTION Foreign firms are taking advantage of the weak dollar to snatch up American assets ■ Page 11 www.crainscleveland.com MASS. COMPANY BUYS MARKETER TENTH FLOOR ■ Interactive marketing company Tenth Floor Inc. in Cleveland has been acquired by publicly traded Bridgeline Software Inc. of Massa- chusetts in a deal that could approach $4 million in value. Tenth Floor CEO Tony Pietrocola said the acquisition will give his company access to Bridgeline resources that include a low-cost development team in Bangalore, India. Mr. Pietrocola said the company will lay off no one at its 25-employee downtown headquarters and that it is looking to hire more developers here. — Chuck Soder SINGLE BEHAVIORAL HEALTH BOARD SOUGHT ■ Cuyahoga County commissioners plan to ask the General Assembly for authority to combine the Cuya- hoga County Community Mental Health Board and the Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services Board of Cuyahoga County. The two organizations presented the commissioners with a merger plan last week. The combination would create a Behavioral Health Board that would oversee all county alcohol, drug addiction and mental health programs. The mental health board has a $118 million budget and employs 51. The drug addiction agency has a $34 million budget and a staff of 33. — Jay Miller CITING EXITS, PANERA LEAVES TOWER CITY ■ Panera Bread is the latest Tower City Center tenant to close its doors. The franchise, run by Warren-based Covelli Enterprises, shuttered the business Jan. 25, though its lease is not up until later this year. “A number of tenants have pulled out (of Tower City),” said Allen Ryan, director of corporate affairs for Covelli, which runs Panera franchises in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Florida. “It had an effect on our decision as to whether to keep that café open or not.” In January, retailers Ann Taylor, The Body Shop and LVLX closed their Tower City stores. Tower City general manager Lisa Kreiger said the retail center would like to replace Panera with another restaurant but would consider other uses for the space. — John Booth WEB DEVELOPER LANDS $500,000 INVESTMENT ■ Web development company O-Web Technologies Ltd. in Cleveland has been awarded a $500,000 investment from Lee Zapis, president of Zapis Capital Group LLC in Westlake. O-Web will use the money to develop a new version of Onosys, its web-based food ordering system, and to expand its sales and marketing efforts. — Chuck Soder LATENEWS NEWSPAPER Entire contents © 2008 by Crain Communications Inc. Vol. 29, No. 5/$1.50 FEBRUARY 4 - 10, 2008 WORK ZONE ■ U. OF AKRON CONFIDENT COMPLETED RENOVATION WILL MORE THAN PAY OFF PROJECT’S DEBT. PAGE 3 MERGERS& ACQUISITIONS RUGGERO FATICA Harpaul Seudatt trims parts at Quality Stamping Products, which president Alan Nayman said has seen its steel costs increase at least 100% over the last four years. As steel prices climb, buyers consider passing along costs, switching to foreign suppliers By DAVID BENNETT [email protected] Rapid-fire steel price increases caused by escalating raw material costs and a big drop in foreign steel imports have Northeast Ohio steel buyers looking at 2008 with trepida- tion. Hot-rolled sheet steel prices in the Midwest have spiked 15% to $670 since Jan. 1, when the price for a ton of hot-rolled steel was $580, accord- ing to American Metal Markets, which covers the steel industry. Robert Pelles, president of Premium Metals Inc., a steel distrib- utor and service center in Cleve- land, said he expects to see prices for hot-rolled steel increase at least 5% per ton each month until March, which would push hot-rolled prices to at least $720. Mr. Pelles said some steel industry observers speculate that 2008 will Insurer Geico looks to enter enemy’s camp Rivalry with Progressive, availability of seasoned call center help may lure Berkshire unit to region By STAN BULLARD [email protected] Geico, the auto insurer behind TV advertising’s in-your-face caveman, is hunting for a site for a call center that could employ as many as 400 workers on archrival Progressive Corp.’s home stamping grounds. Real estate sources say Northeast Ohio is under consideration for a new Geico call center that initially requires 30,000 square feet, with room for expansion. Moreover, Geico is among a small pack of at least three compa- nies searching for call-center space in the region. Team NEO, the regional economic development organization, has circu- lated among property and economic development insiders a document describing the space requirements for an unidentified company. The document is code-named Project Himani, but two sources who asked not to be identified tagged the company as Geico. The document, obtained by Crain’s, said the unidentified company is interested “primarily (in) Northeast Ohio.” The document said the prospect would consider locations throughout the region, from Cleveland to Mansfield and Youngstown. Geico spokeswoman Christine Tasher said the company, a unit of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., has no plans “at the moment” to open a call center in Cleveland. However, the insurer apparently has had a yen for a location here for years. An economic development Legal sharks start circling Nat City with class actions See STEEL Page 9 See MORE Page 4 See GEICO Page 7 CCLB 02-04-08 A 1 CCLB 2/1/2008 3:18 PM Page 1

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