Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: Toyoda Gosei sentenced in U.S. auto parts cartel probe, (Dec 16, 2014)

By Jeffrey May, J.D.

The federal district court in Toledo, Ohio, today sentenced Toyoda Gosei, Co., Ltd. of Japan after the company pleaded guilty for its role in conspiracies to fix prices and rig bids for automotive parts. The company was fined $26 million. The fine is due immediately upon entry of the criminal judgment (U.S. v. Toyoda Gosei, Co., Ltd., Case: 3:14-cr-00349-JZ).

On September 29, a two-count felony charge was filed against Toyoda Gosei for conspiring to fix the prices of certain automotive hoses and for conspiring to fix the prices of automotive airbags and steering wheels. According to the charges, Toyoda Gosei and unnamed co-conspirators agreed upon bids and price quotations to be submitted to automakers, including Toyota Motor Corp. and Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd., and to allocate the supply of the products to those automakers.

The defendant’s role in the conspiracy involving automotive hoses, which are used in automobile engine compartments and fuel tank modules, lasted from approximately February 2004 to September 2010, and its involvement in the automotive airbags and steering wheels conspiracy lasted from around September 2003 until at least September 2010, according to the Department of Justice.

More than 30 companies have pleaded guilty or agreed to plead guilty to charges arising out of the Justice Department's ongoing antitrust investigation of the automotive parts industry. Fines total more than $2.4 billion.

While Toyoda Gosei's $26 million fine is large, some monetary penalties have been significantly higher. A fine of $425 million was imposed on Bridgestone Corporation earlier this year for conspiring to fix prices of automotive anti-vibration rubber parts. At the time, the “significant fine” was said to be based on Bridgestone's status as a “repeat offender.”

Attorneys: Randall Turk (Baker Botts LLP) for Toyoda Gosei Co. Ltd.

Companies: Toyoda Gosei Co. Ltd.

News: Antitrust AntitrustDivisionNews