First Class Action Settlement Reached in Auto Parts Price-Fixing MDL

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Automotive parts manufacturer Nippon Seiki Co. Ltd. has agreed to a $4.56 million class action settlement resolving allegations that it conspired with other auto-parts manufacturers to fix the prices of vehicle instrument panels. The class action settlement affects every U.S. consumer who purchased a motor vehicle since the end of 2002.

U.S. District Judge Marianne O. Battani granted preliminary approval to the Nippon Seiki class action settlement and granted provisional certification of a settlement Class consisting of all persons and entities who purchased or leased an Instrument Panel Cluster, either as a component in a motor vehicle or as a stand-alone product, since December 2002. Although the deal was preliminarily approved on Dec. 23, the class action settlement was not announced until Tuesday.

Nippon Seiki is the first auto parts manufacturer to agree to settle its portion of the massive auto parts price-fixing multidistrict litigation known as In re: Automotive Parts Antitrust Litigation.

Three other manufacturers remain involved in the auto parts price-fixing MDL—Yazaki Corp., Denso Corp. and Furukawa Electric Co. Ltd. These companies have paid close to $750 million in fines for their role in an alleged price-fixing scheme for instrument panels.

The MDL was formed following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice into a series of price-fixing conspiracies within the auto parts industry. This investigation has already resulted in the companies being subjected to more than $1.6 billion in fines.

The auto parts price-fixing MDL arises from an alleged conspiracy by auto parts manufacturers to fix the prices of instrument panel clusters. The first class action lawsuits filed by end-payor plaintiffs was filed in 2012, following an announcement that Yazaki agreed to plead guilty and pay $470 in criminal fines for participating in the auto parts price-fixing conspiracy. Four similar class action lawsuits were consolidated into the MDL by the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation in June 2012.

On Nov. 8, 2012, Nippon Seiki agreed to plead guilty and pay $1 million in criminal fines for participating in the auto parts price-fixing conspiracy. Specifically, the company pled guilty to a conspiracy to “suppress and eliminate competition in the automotive parts industry by agreeing to rig bids for, and to fix, stabilize and maintain the prices of Instrument Panel Clusters sold to an automobile manufacturer in the United States and elsewhere from at least as early as April 2008 and continuing until at least February 2010 in violation of the Sherman Act.”

Nippon Seiki has agreed to an all-cash payout of $4.56 million plus accrued interest within 15 days after execution of the class action settlement agreement. Nippon Seiki has also agreed to cooperate with the settlement Class Members to help with the prosecution of the antitrust claims against the defendants remaining in the MDL.

Nippon Seiki is the first of the defendants to reach a settlement in the auto parts price-fixing MDL. This “icebreaking” settlement agreement was reached after more than 13 months of meetings, information gathering and negotiations. While Nippon Seiki denies the allegations, the company agreed to the class action settlement to avoid the expense, inconvenience and burden of protracted litigation.

Details on how much money Class Members will receive from the Nippon Seiki class action settlement were not detailed in the settlement documents. Top Class Actions will update our readers as more information becomes available.

The end-payor plaintiffs are represented by Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi LLP, Susman Godfrey LLP, Cotchett Pitre & McCarthy LLP, and the Miller Law Firm.

The Automotive Parts Price-Fixing MDL is In re: Automotive Parts Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 2:12-md-02311, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

UPDATE: Another settlement has reportedly been reached in a massive class action lawsuit over a widespread price-fixing scheme in the automotive parts industry. Furukawa Electric Co., a Japanese auto wiring supplier, has agreed to pay more than $42.5 million to settle allegations that it conspired with other automotive companies to fix the price of car electronic systems, according to documents filed this week in Michigan federal court.

UPDATE 2: On Oct. 7, 2016, JTEKT Corp. will reportedly pay $62.5 million to settle allegations it participated in a massive conspiracy to fix the price of automotive parts, including automotive bearings and electric powered steering assemblies.