Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST NEWS: Truck, equipment dealers settle auto parts price fixing suit for $2.8M, (Aug 24, 2016)

By Greg Hammond, J.D.

Truck and equipment dealer plaintiffs have asked the federal district court in Detroit to approve a $2.8 million settlement with some of the motor vehicle industry’s largest manufacturers, marketers, and sellers of vehicle parts. The settlement, if approved, would resolve claims that the defendants fixed prices, rigged bids, and allocated the market and customers in the United States for the sale of wire harness systems and occupant safety restraint systems (In re Automotive Parts Antitrust Litigation, Case Nos. 2:14-cv-14451-MOB-MKM, 2:14-cv-00107-MOB-MKM, 2:15-cv-12050-MOB-MKM, and 2:12-cv-00607-MOB-MKM).

The dealer plaintiffs alleged that they purchased new trucks and equipment in the United States, including one or more wire harness system or occupant safety restraint system, or indirectly purchased one or more of those systems as replacement parts, which were manufactured or sold by the settling defendants—DENSO Corp., DENSO International America, Inc., Tokai Rika Co., Ltd., TRAM, Inc., LEONI Wiring Systems, Inc., Leonische Holding Inc., Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd., American Furukawa, Inc., Autoliv, Inc., Autoliv ASP, Inc., Autoliv B.V. & Co. KG, Autoliv Japan Ltd., ZF TRW Automotive Holdings Corp., and TRW Deutschland Holding GmbH.

In furtherance of the alleged conspiracy or conspiracies, the defendants purportedly agreed, during meetings and conversations, to unlawfully fix, artificially raise, maintain and/or stabilize prices, rig bids for, and allocate the supply of wire harness systems and occupant safety restraint systems and then sold those products at supracompetitive prices to truck and equipment original equipment manufacturers, which in turn passed along the overcharges to truck and equipment dealerships in the United States and elsewhere.

In their motion for preliminary approval of the settlements, the dealership plaintiffs contend that the settlements are meaningful and substantial and will result in payments of more than $2.8 million for the benefit of the respective settlement classes, constituting a significant achievement in this litigation. Additional value would also be added to the plaintiffs, because the settlements require the settling defendants to provide cooperation in the form of attorney proffers, interviews with and depositions of witnesses, and the production of certain documents related to the claims asserted in these cases as well as in other cases brought by the dealership plaintiffs in the multi district litigation proceeding.

Attorneys: Manly Parks (Duane Morris LLP) for Truck and Equipment Dealer Plaintiffs.

Companies: DENSO Corp.; DENSO International America, Inc.; Tokai Rika Co., Ltd.; TRAM, Inc.; LEONI Wiring Systems, Inc.; Leonische Holding Inc.; Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd.; American Furukawa, Inc.; Autoliv, Inc.; Autoliv ASP, Inc.; Autoliv B.V. & Co. KG; Autoliv Japan Ltd.; ZF TRW Automotive Holdings Corp.; TRW Deutschland Holding GmbH

News: Antitrust MichiganNews