Body Shops Want Approval of $25M Auto Part Price-Fixing Class Action Settlement

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Two auto body shops are asking a Wisconsin federal court to grant final approval to a $25 million class action settlement to resolve allegations that several Taiwanese auto part whole sellers engaged in price-fixing.

Fond du Lac Bumper Exchange Inc. and Roberts Wholesale Body Parts Inc. told the federal court that the class action settlement gives the Class Members both substantial and immediate relief without the risk and expense of a trial.

“Should direct purchaser plaintiffs’ claims proceed to trial, the trial itself would be time-consuming and complex,” the plaintiffs said in their memorandum in support of final approval of the class action settlement.

“Each subsequent step in the continued litigation of this matter would require the settlement class to incur additional expenses without the guarantee of a larger recovery — or any recovery,” the auto body shops add.

The plaintiffs say that no Class Member has opted out of the auto parts price-fixing class action settlement nor have they objected to the deal.

“This is persuasive evidence of the outstanding nature of the result achieved through the settlements, informed as they were by years of hard-fought litigation, an extensive discovery record, and the assistance of a mediator,” the motion to approve the class action settlement says.

The direct purchasers say that while “they are confident that they could prove their case at trial, numerous litigation obstacles remain including class certification, summary judgement, ultimately trial, and perhaps appeal. An antitrust case is complicated and potential obstacles to success at trial or an appeal are ever-present.”

The court granted preliminary approval for the class action settlement on April 24 and May 5, when it also granted preliminary class certification.

The memorandum filed by the direct purchasers on July 22 is also asking the Wisconsin federal judge to affirm class certification.

The plaintiffs say that 361 Class Members, which makes up 77 percent of the class, were reached by mail.

The auto parts price fixing class action lawsuit was filed in 2009. This class action settlement was reached “following five years of litigation and several months of arm’s length settlement negotiations with the assistance of a respected mediator,” the plaintiffs told the federal court.

Notice of the class action settlement was sent out on May 14, in the manner dictated in the order granting preliminary approval to the deal.

The motion for final approval was filed one week after the plaintiffs asked the Wisconsin federal court for class certification.

Since the class action lawsuit was filed in 2009, two suppliers have paid $16 million in an effort to resolve the price-fixing allegations. Gordon Auto Body Parts Co. Ltd. agreed to settle the charges for $9 million and another supplier, Tong Yang Industry Co. Ltd., paid $6.7 million in claims made by indirect purchasers.

The plaintiffs are represented by Vincent J. Esades and Jessica N. Servais of Heins Mills & Olson PLC, Jason S. Hartley of Stueve Siegel Hanson LLP and K. Scott Wagner of Hale & Wagner SC.

The defendants Auto Parts Industrial Ltd. and Cornerstone Auto Parts LLC are represented by Gretchen L. Jankowski and Cindy Dunlap Hinkle of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC.

The defendant Jui Li Enterprise Co. Ltd. is represented by Ronald C. Finley,  Alfredo A. Bismonte, Jeremy M. Duggan and Justin T. Beck of Beck Bismonte Finley LLP.

The Auto Parts Antitrust Class Action Lawsuit is Fond Du Lac Bumper Exchange Inc. et al v. Jui Li Enterprise Co. Ltd. et al., Case No. 2:09-cv-00852, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.