SLIPPERY ROCK — Several law firms representing the Slippery Rock School District have filed a class-action lawsuit in federal court alleging that three Ohio-based companies have been knowingly selling defective roofing systems.

The complaint lists Tremco of Beachwood, Ohio, Weatherproofing Technologies of Beachwood, Ohio, and RPM International of Medina, Ohio, as defendants.

“Tremco knew since mid-2005 that its BURmastic roofing systems, which were installed over insulation board, had a strong potential to fail, and that many of these installed systems were, indeed, failing,” the lawsuit complaint reads.

The district entered into contracts with the defendants to have roofing installed at Slippery Rock High School and Moraine Elementary School.

School district officials could not be reached for comment.

The complaint does not specify the amount of damages that the district will seek, but it does list the total amount of damages for the full class as more than $5 million. The case was filed in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh.

The sale of defective products is identified in the claim as negligence, fraud, breach of contract, breach of express warranty and breach of implied warranty.

It also claims that the companies committed fraud by misrepresenting their products. The defendants sold products labeled as “premium” that were equal in composition to less expensive products labeled as “generic” or “economy,” according to the suit.

A Tremco spokesman said in an e-mail, “We have not received service of that lawsuit from the claimant, but are confident that the negative allegations you mention regarding our products or pricing are based upon inaccurate information,” he said.