$72M Settlement Resolves Car Part Price-Fixing Claims Against Mitsuba

The Mitsuba companies have agreed to a multi-million dollar settlement resolving claims that they conspired to fix prices on automotive parts.

Attorneys representing the affected plaintiffs filed their motion for preliminary settlement approval this past Monday.

The settlement provides that defendants Mitsuba Corporation and American Mitsuba Corporation will pay compensation to “end-payor plaintiffs” – generally, consumers who purchased the vehicle parts at issue for their own use.

The end-payor plaintiffs are distinguished from other plaintiffs in the litigation, many of whom are auto dealerships or manufacturers of vehicles or vehicle components who purchased the parts directly from Mitsuba.

Under terms of the Mitsuba class action settlement, Mitsuba will put up a total of $72 million to be distributed to members of the settlement Classes. Class Members include consumers who purchased or leased a vehicle with one of the parts at issue, or who purchased one of the parts for use as a replacement part.

Mitsuba also agrees to cooperate with end-payor plaintiffs who are actively litigating claims against other defendants in the automotive parts antitrust litigation, giving plaintiffs the benefit of getting the evidence they need without having to pick a fight over discovery.

The company has offered to provide relevant documents and the names of current and former employees and officers involved in other aspects of the litigation. Additional cooperation is available for end-payor plaintiffs who continue to actively litigate claims against other defendants.

The claims against Mitsuba are just some of those within the massive automotive parts antitrust litigation, consolidated into a single multidistrict litigation in a Michigan federal court. Several rounds of settlements have already been reached with other defendant companies, while other companies continue to oppose the claims against them.

The Mitsuba class action settlement will benefit members of 10 settlement Classes, one for each type of automotive part at issue. Class Members include those who during the applicable period of time either purchased the part at issue or purchased or leased a vehicle equipped with the part, for their own use and not for resale.

The applicable time periods vary among the different vehicle parts. Parts covered in the Mitsuba class action settlement are windshield wiper systems, radiators, starters, automotive lamps, electric powered steering assemblies, fan motors, fuel injection systems, power window motors, and windshield washer systems.

Top Class Actions will post updates to this class action settlement as they become available. For the latest updates, keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter. You can also receive notifications when this article is updated by using your free Top Class Actions account and clicking the “Follow Article” button at the top of the post.

The end-payor plaintiff Classes are represented by attorneys Steven N. Williams, Elizabeth Tran and Joyce Chang of Cotchett Pitre & McCarthy LLP; Hollis Salzman, Bernard Persky and William V. Reiss of Robins Kaplan LLP; Marc M. Seltzer, Steven G. Sklaver, Terrell W. Oxford, Chanler A. Langham and Omar Ochoa of Susman Godfrey LLP; and E. Powell Miller and Devon P. Allard of The Miller Law Firm PC.

The Mitsuba Automotive Parts Antitrust Class Action Lawsuit is part of In re: Automotive Parts Antitrust Litigation, Master File No. 12-md-02311, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.