Malarkey Roofing Products has been the subject of two significant lawsuits and enforcement actions: a record-setting Oregon Department of Environmental Quality air pollution case that ended in a $1.45 million settlement in 2022, and a California wage-and-hour class action that settled for $300,000 and received final approval in October 2023. The Portland-based shingle manufacturer also faces steady consumer warranty complaints, but no product-defect class action against Malarkey has been publicly filed.
The Oregon DEQ Formaldehyde Case
The largest legal matter involving Malarkey grew out of a decade of uncontrolled formaldehyde emissions from its North Portland manufacturing plant. In 2009, Malarkey modified an emissions unit at the facility without notifying the DEQ or obtaining the required permits. That change allowed formaldehyde, a suspected carcinogen used as a binding agent in shingle production, to escape into the surrounding Kenton neighborhood for roughly ten years.1OPB. Herbert Malarkey Roofing Products Air Pollution Fine Oregon Environmental Quality During that span the plant operated without a required Title V air quality permit and without proper pollution controls, with formaldehyde output reaching at least ten tons per year.2Portland Mercury. Roofing Company Hit With Largest Fine in DEQ History for a Decade of Emissions
Malarkey self-reported potential emission discrepancies to the DEQ in 2018, and testing in 2019 confirmed the elevated levels. In July 2020, the company installed a regenerative thermal oxidizer reported to be at least 96% effective, and post-installation testing showed formaldehyde at roughly 5% of the Title V threshold.3Roofing Contractor. Malarkey Roofing Fined Record $2.1 Million for Emission Violations
The Fine and Settlement
In fall 2021 the DEQ issued a $2.1 million penalty, the largest fine in the agency’s history at that time. The figure was calculated to recapture the economic benefit Malarkey gained by avoiding permit fees and pollution control costs for a decade.4Oregon DEQ. DEQ Enforcement Fines Malarkey Roofing $2.1 Million for Failing to Appropriately Control Its Emissions
By July 2022 the parties reached a negotiated settlement of $1.45 million after Malarkey demonstrated it had avoided fewer costs than the DEQ originally estimated. Even at the reduced figure, the agency described the settlement as the largest in its history.5Portland Tribune. Portland Roofing Company to Pay $1.45M for Air Pollution
Under the agreement, Malarkey could direct up to $1.16 million of the penalty, roughly 80%, toward DEQ-approved supplemental environmental projects aimed at improving air quality in Kenton. If the company failed to identify qualifying projects, the full amount would go to the state.6Portland Mercury. North Portland Roofing Facility Agrees to Emissions Mitigation Plan After Historic DEQ Fine Then-president Dale Rushing said the company planned to work with organizations including Friends of Trees to fund plantings in North Portland, though that project still needed DEQ approval.7Roofing Contractor. Malarkey Roofing, Oregon DEQ Reach $1.45 Million Settlement for Emission Violations Available reporting does not confirm whether the projects were ultimately funded or the money went to the state.
The settlement also imposed ongoing compliance obligations: a detailed maintenance plan for the new pollution controls within 45 days, monthly emissions reports to the DEQ, and a disclosure requirement that any publicity about the environmental projects note the DEQ enforcement origin. The spending could not be claimed as a tax deduction.8OregonLive. Oregon DEQ, Malarkey Roofing Co. Agree on $1.45 Million Fine Over Air Pollution Violations
Tyler Roppe, vice-chair of the Kenton Neighborhood Association, criticized the fine as merely an “economic offset” that failed to meaningfully penalize the company. The DEQ stated that with the controls installed in 2020, the current risk to public health is low.2Portland Mercury. Roofing Company Hit With Largest Fine in DEQ History for a Decade of Emissions
The California Wage-and-Hour Class Action
A former hourly employee, Edgar Rodriguez-Fonseca, sued Herbert Malarkey Roofing Company in Los Angeles Superior Court in 2019 as case No. 19STCV01237. The class action, brought under the California Labor Code and the Private Attorneys General Act, alleged that Malarkey failed to pay overtime and minimum wages, failed to provide required meal and rest breaks, failed to pay waiting-time penalties, failed to provide compliant wage statements, and engaged in unfair business practices.9CPT Group. Notice of Class Action Settlement
The class covered all current and former hourly or non-exempt employees who worked for Malarkey in California between January 17, 2015, and October 12, 2021. The case did not go to trial. The parties reached a settlement with a gross value of $300,000, which the court preliminarily approved in October 2021.
Out of the gross fund, up to $100,000 was allocated to attorneys’ fees, up to $15,000 to litigation costs, up to $10,000 to the claims administrator (CPT Group), and up to $5,000 as a service award to Rodriguez-Fonseca. An additional $10,000 was designated for PAGA penalties, with 75% going to the state. The remaining balance was distributed pro rata to participating class members based on their qualifying workweeks, and class members were automatically included unless they opted out.9CPT Group. Notice of Class Action Settlement
Final approval was granted on October 10, 2023, and the settlement became effective that same day. All deadlines for opting out, disputing workweek totals, or objecting to the settlement passed in September 2023.10CPT Group. Rodriguez-Fonseca v. Herbert Malarkey Roofing Company The case is closed.
Consumer Warranty Complaints, but No Product Class Action
Homeowners have filed a steady stream of individual complaints about Malarkey shingles, but there is no publicly filed product-defect class action against the company. As of mid-2026, the Better Business Bureau lists 29 complaints against Malarkey Roofing Products over the preceding three years, with 21 closed in the most recent 12 months. Of those, 22 are categorized as “Answered,” meaning the company responded but the consumer did not accept the resolution, and only 7 are listed as “Resolved.” The company holds an A+ BBB rating.11BBB. Malarkey Roofing Products Complaints
The grievances follow a recognizable pattern. Homeowners report premature shingle failures such as granule loss, blistering, cracking, and blow-offs, sometimes within a few years of installation. Common frustrations with the warranty claim process include:
- Settlement offers consumers describe as insufficient to cover actual repair costs. One 2026 complaint reported an $18,679 offer against contractor estimates exceeding $34,000 for replacement.
- Prorated calculations that sharply reduce coverage once the non-prorated “Right Start” period (typically 10 to 20 years depending on the product) expires.
- Denials attributing failures to improper installation rather than manufacturing defects.
- Processing delays, with one 2026 complaint noting a 113-day gap between filing and receiving an offer.
Malarkey’s responses reference its warranty terms, noting that settlements are calculated using third-party tools and that coverage is governed by the warranty in effect at the time of installation. The warranty requires written claims within 30 days of discovery, before any permanent repairs are made, and routes unresolved disputes to binding arbitration under the American Arbitration Association.12Malarkey Roofing. Shingle Warranty The arbitration requirement is a practical reason the individual complaints have not consolidated into class litigation.
Who Owns Malarkey Now
Herbert Malarkey founded the company in 1956 in Portland, Oregon, and the Malarkey family owned it for decades before selling to Swiss building materials company Holcim in a $1.35 billion stock purchase that closed on March 1, 2022.13OregonLive. Swiss Company Buys Portland-Based Malarkey Roofing Products in $1.35 Billion Deal In June 2025 Holcim spun off its North American operations as an independent, publicly traded company called Amrize (NYSE: AMRZ). Malarkey is now a subsidiary of Amrize.14Malarkey Roofing. Malarkey Is Now Part of Amrize Both the DEQ enforcement action and the California class action predate the Amrize spin-off, and both were resolved under the Holcim-era ownership.