Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: Class action filed against providers of Vehicle Carrier Services for conspiracy to fix prices and allocate markets and customers, (Jul 18, 2013)

By Peter Reap, J.D., LL.M.

A putative class of indirect purchasers have filed a class action suit in the federal district court in San Francisco against providers of Vehicle Carrier Services globally and in the United States, for engaging in at least a five-year long conspiracy to fix, raise, maintain, and/or stabilize prices, and allocate the market and customers in the United States for Vehicle Carrier Services. Specifically, Vehicle Carrier Services refers to the paid ocean transportation of vehicles by specialized cargo ships known as Roll On/Roll Off vessels.

Among the many defendants named in the complaint are: NYK Line (N.A.) Inc., Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd., Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd., “K” Line America, Inc., and nine others. The plaintiffs seek to represent all persons and entities in the United States who indirectly purchased from any defendant Vehicle Carrier Services for personal use and not for resale, incorporated into the purchase price of a vehicle purchased or leased during the period from January 2008 through such time as the alleged anticompetitive effects of the defendants’ conduct ceased.

According to the complaint, competition authorities in the United States, the European Union, Canada, and Japan have been investigating a possible global cartel among Vehicle Carriers since at least September 2012. As a result of the defendants’ unlawful conduct, consumers paid artificially inflated prices for Vehicle Carrier Services incorporated into the price of a new vehicle purchased or leased during the relevant period, and thereby suffered antitrust injury.

The complaint alleges a claim that the defendants violated Section 1 of the Sherman Act by engaging in a contract, combination, or conspiracy in unreasonable restraint of trade. It also includes claims for violation of the Minnesota antitrust statutes and a claim for unjust enrichment. The complaint requests injunctive relief, damages, and attorney fees.

The complaint in Reiber v. NYK Line (N.A.) Inc., Case No. CV 13 3233, was filed July 12, 2013.

Attorneys: Francis O. Scarpulla (Zelle Hoffmann Voelbel & Mason LLP) for Judy A. Reiber.

Companies: : NYK Line (N.A.) Inc.; Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha; Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd.; Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd.; “K” Line America, Inc.

News: Antitrust CaliforniaNews