Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: Guilty plea entered in first U.S. action over price fixing of commercial vehicle parking heaters, (Mar 13, 2015)

By Jeffrey May, J.D.

The Department of Justice Antitrust Division has announced its first action resulting from an ongoing investigation into anticompetitive conduct in the parking heater industry. Yesterday, Espar Inc., a seller of parking heaters, pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to fix prices of parking heaters for commercial vehicles. A one-count felony charge was filed in the federal district court in Brooklyn, New York. The Antitrust Division disclosed last month its intention to file the action (U.S. v. Espar Inc., Criminal No. 1:15-cr-00028-JG).

According to the Justice Department, Espar participated in the conspiracy from October 2007 through the end of 2012. The company admitted to agreeing to set price floors and to coordinate the timing and amount of price increases for parking heaters for commercial vehicles sold to aftermarket customers—customers that purchase parking heaters for installation in a vehicle after it has been sold by the original vehicle manufacturer. Parking heaters are devices that heat the interior compartment of a motor vehicle independent of the operation of the vehicle's engine.

Under the plea agreement, the government will recommend a $14,970,000 fine. In addition, Espar has agreed to cooperate with the investigation. Sentencing is scheduled for June 5. If the court does not accept the recommended sentence, the defendant is free to withdraw its guilty plea.

Attorneys: Carrie A. Syme for Department of Justice Antitrust Division. Michael F. Tubach (O'Melveny & Myers LLP) for Espar Inc.

Companies: Espar Inc.

News: Antitrust AntitrustDivisionNews