好色先生TV materials firm Hanson has received a writ from the state of California claiming 拢119m for underpayment of royalties for sand dredged from San Francisco bay.
The suit claims that Hanson has manipulated prices of sand taken from San Francisco bay since 1993. It is also alleged that the company under-reported the amount of sand extracted and mined outside its lease areas.

Hanson intends to fight the action. It claims that the stance adopted by California attorney general Bill Lockyer is "inconsistent" with standard mineral royalty procedures. It also claims that the authorities in California had checked and approved its method of calculating royalties during an audit two years ago.

The firm said: "Hanson does not believe that there are adequate grounds to support the allegations, or the amount of damages being sought."