In re: Automotive Parts Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 12-md-02311 (E.D. Mich.).
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, in the largest international antitrust investigation in its history, has charged 48 companies and 65 executives, and collected more than $2.9 billion in fines stemming from its investigation into price fixing, bid rigging, and other anticompetitive conduct in the automotive parts manufacturing industry.Civil cases have also been filed on behalf of direct purchasers of such parts, and on behalf of indirect purchasers of such parts, including auto dealers, truck dealers, and consumers who purchased cars or replacement parts. The civil damages claims were grouped into separate cases, depending on the car parts involved, and transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, located in Detroit, Michigan.
There, presiding Judge Marianne O. Battani appointed CGL’s Jonathan Cuneo, along with prominent lawyers from Mississippi and Minnesota, as co-lead counsel for auto dealers in 29 states and D.C. who seek compensation from auto parts manufacturers for their unlawful bid-rigging and price-fixing of various auto parts.Counsel for auto dealers have filed more than 40 damages cases covering different auto parts.All defendants identified in the filed auto dealer cases have agreed to settle the claims against them.The court has granted approval for settlements between manufacturers and auto dealers totaling more than $400 million, and funds from three rounds of settlements have been distributed.
Since June 2020, Judge Sean F. Cox has overseen the auto dealer cases. Funds from the fourth round of settlements are scheduled to be distributed at the end of August 2022.Counsel for auto dealers will also be seeking approval to distribute funds for a small fifth round of settlements.
Specific information about the auto dealer settlements can be found at:http://www.autodealersettlement.com/.
For additional information, please contact Danny Cohen, Jennifer Kelly, or Victoria Sims at (202) 789-3960, or by email at danielc@cuneolaw.com, jkelly@cuneolaw.com, or vicky@cuneolaw.com.