Lear Agrees to Auto Parts Price-Fixing Class Action Settlement

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Another class action settlement has been reached in the massive auto parts antitrust multidistrict litigation (MDL). On Tuesday, Lear Corp. disclosed in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it has agreed to an $8.75 million class action settlement that will resolve allegations it conspired with other auto parts makers to fix the prices of automotive wire harness systems.

In what has been deemed the largest international antitrust investigation in history, the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice lodged criminal charges against numerous auto parts manufacturers. A number of companies have pleaded guilty and paid fines, which now exceed $1.6 billion. This massive investigation led direct and indirect auto parts purchasers to file a number of class action lawsuits against the manufacturers. The class action lawsuits were consolidated by the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation in June 2012.

The Lear wire harness settlement is part of the larger auto parts price-fixing MDL, which involves allegations that auto parts manufacturers conspired to fix the prices of instrument panel clusters, heater control panels, bearings, occupant safety restraint systems, radiators, fuel senders, alternators, windshield wipers, starters and anti-vibration rubber parts.

The massive auto parts MDL has survived several attempts by the manufacturers to dismiss the class action lawsuits. In June 2013, U.S. District Judge Marianne O. Battani dismissed some of the indirect purchasers’ claims from the automotive wire harness class action lawsuits, but kept the federal antitrust claims brought by a group of direct purchasers of the auto parts.

Lear did not admit any wrongdoing, but agreed to pay $8.75 million in cash and stock to direct and indirect purchasers of the automotive wire harnesses to settle its part of the auto parts antitrust MDL. A separate class action lawsuit filed by public entities is currently pending in Michigan federal court. The auto parts manufacturer is also facing antitrust litigation in Canada.

Lear is the latest auto parts manufacturer to settle claims in the massive auto parts antitrust MDL. In January, Nippon Seiki Co. Ltd. agreed to a $4.56 million class action settlement resolving allegations that it conspired to fix the prices of vehicle instrument panels.

In February, a number of auto parts makers, including Panasonic Corp., Hitachi Automotive Systems Ltd., and Mitsuba Corp., were hit with separate class action lawsuits accusing the companies of conspiring to fix the prices of air flow meters.

Details about how much money Class Members will receive from the Lear class action settlement were not immediately available. Keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter for the latest updates. You can also mark this article as a “Favorite” using your free Top Class Actions account to receive notifications when this article is updated.

The plaintiffs are represented by Kohn Swift & Graf PC, Spector Roseman Kodroff & Willis PC, Preti Flaherty Beliveau & Pachios LLP, Freed Kanner London & Millen LLC, Fink Associates Law, Cuneo Gilbert & LaDuca LLP and Robins Kaplan Miller & Ciresi LLP.

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.

UPDATE: 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.

UPDATE 2: 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.