Yazaki Settles Remaining Claims in Auto Parts Price-Fixing MDL

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On Monday, plaintiffs in the auto parts price-fixing class action lawsuit filed a motion for preliminary approval of a proposed settlement in federal court indicating that Yazaki Corp. has agreed to pay $76 million to settle remaining claims in the multidistrict litigation.

Three separate cases were brought against the Yazaki Corp., a Japanese auto parts maker, and several other defendants accusing them of unfairly fixing prices and manipulating bids. On Monday, the end-payor plaintiffs (“EPPs”) indicated they had agreed to settle their claims with Yazaki for $76 million. “Yazaki has promised to provide robust cooperation to the EPPs,” wrote the attorneys for the EPPs in the motion. “Such cooperation will provide significant assistance to EPPs in prosecuting their claims,” they continued.

“First,” the attorneys explained, “based on evidence discovered to date, Yazaki played a crucial role in the conspiracies alleged in the three cases. As the parties prepare to engage in intensive discovery in the Automotive Wire Harness Systems, Instrument Panel Clusters, and Fuel Senders cases, Yazaki has promised to provide robust cooperation to the EPPs. Such cooperation will provide significant assistance to EPPs in prosecuting their claims. Second, the Yazaki settlements are the first multi-part settlement before this Court, demonstrating that coordinated settlements in this case are obtainable—and desirable. Third, Yazaki’s payment of $76 million to resolve claims in three cases represents the largest settlement obtained by EPPs to date. Further, the motion points out that “the Yazaki settlements are the first multipart settlement before this court, demonstrating that coordinated settlements in this case are obtainable — and desirable.”

The $76 million proposed settlement amount would resolve all claims brought by end-payors in three separate cases if approved by the court. The settlement includes claims brought against Yazaki in cases with Automotive Wire Harness Systems, Instrument Panel Clusters and Fuel Senders. The motion indicated that the settlement is a result of “well over a year of intensive, arm’s-length negotiations, involving numerous meetings and information exchanges.”

In June, Yazaki agreed to settle with another group of plaintiffs in the multidistrict litigation (MDL) alleging that Yazaki had entered into a price-fixing conspiracy for occupant safety systems for an undisclosed amount of money. Additionally, Yazaki has paid $470 million in fines to the U.S. Department of Justice stemming from a Justice Department’s probe into price-fixing in the automotive parts industry four years ago. The Justice Department’s investigation has turned into the largest criminal antitrust investigation ever conducted by the agency and has led to criminal charges against dozens of companies throughout the world, resulting in billions of dollars in criminal fines paid to the U.S. government.

The settling plaintiffs are represented by Marc M. Seltzer, Steven G. Sklaver, Terrell W. Oxford and Warren T. Burns of Susman Godfrey LLP; Frank C. Damrell, Steven N. Williams, Adam J. Zapala and Elizabeth Tran of Cotchett Pitre & McCarthy LLP; Hollis Salzman, Bernard Persky and William V. Reiss of Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi LLP; and E. Powell Miller and Adam T. Schnatz of The Miller Law Firm PC.

The Auto 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, Southern Division. The Auto Parts Price-Fixing Class Action Lawsuit is In re: Instrument Panel Clusters, Case No. 2:12-cv-00203, in the same court.

UPDATE: September 2017, the automotive wire harness antitrust class action lawsuit have secured settlements from five defendants worth more than $249 million. Click here to file a claim.