A unit of Nissan Motor Co. and several other automotive shippers have been hit with a class action lawsuit accusing the companies of forming a price-fixing cartel that resulted in U.S. consumers paying higher prices for foreign cars since 2008.
Lead plaintiff David Schroeder says Nissan and the other shipping company defendants engaged in a five-year long conspiracy to suppress and eliminate competition in the vehicle carrier services market by agreeing to fix, raise, maintain and stabilize overseas shipping prices.
The class action lawsuit follows a September announcement that European, Japanese and U.S. regulators conducted unannounced raids of several maritime shipping companies suspected of operating a cartel.
The U.S. Department of Justice said shortly thereafter that it is investigating potentially illegal pricing practices in the ocean shipping of cars, trucks, construction equipment and other products in a coordinated effort with the European Commission, the Japanese Fair Trade Commission and other international competition authorities.
The defendants in the auto shipping cartel class action lawsuit include Japan-based Nissan Motor Car Carrier Co., American Shipping and Logistics Group, Wilh. Wilhelmsen ASA and several other Chilean, South Korean, Norwegian and Swedish auto shippers. The shippers control more than 70 percent of the market for vehicle carrier services.
Schroeder is seeking to represent thousands of Californians who indirectly purchased vehicle carrier services for personal use from any of the defendants during the class period.
The Auto Shipping Price-Fixing Cartel Class Action Lawsuit case is David Schroeder et al. v. Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha et al., Case No. 13-cv-01319, in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California.
Schroeder is represented by Francis M. Gregorek, Betsy C. Manifold, Rachele R. Rickert, Marisa C. Livesary, Mary Jane Fait and Patrick H. Moran of Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLC.
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