Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST—J.P.M.L.: Pretrial proceedings for price fixing actions against vehicle carrier services will be in New Jersey, (Oct 21, 2013)

By Jeffrey May, J.D.

The federal district court in Newark, New Jersey, will be the forum for centralized pretrial proceedings for price fixing litigation against vehicle carrier services that had been filed in federal district courts around the country, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) has decided (In re: Vehicle Carrier Services Antitrust Litigation, October 18, 2013, Heyburn, J.).

Centralization was appropriate because the actions shared factual questions relating to the price fixing allegations. However, the parties disputed the appropriate district for centralization.

Plaintiffs who brought an antitrust action against Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha and other providers of vehicle carrier services in the federal district court in San Francisco on behalf of a putative class of vehicle purchasers had moved, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1407, for coordinated pretrial proceedings in the Northern District of California. Plaintiffs in other actions suggested centralization in other districts.

The JPML noted that there was “no clear focal point for this litigation, which is bi-coastal in nature, with defendants located in Asia and Europe.” It decided on the District of New Jersey, however, where two actions were pending. In addition, several defendants maintain their U.S. headquarters in New Jersey. The matter was assigned to Judge Esther Salas, “an experienced transferee judge who presently is not presiding over an MDL.”

Antitrust authorities around the world have investigated price fixing among international air freight forwarders, including some vehicle carrier services named in the pending actions. The plaintiffs in the consolidated actions seek to recover overcharges resulting from the alleged conspiracy to fix prices.

This case is MDL No. 2471.

Attorneys: Steven N. Williams (Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP) and Elizabeth C. Pritzker (Pritzker Law) for Joan MacQuarrie.

Companies: Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha

Cases: Antitrust