Usui Kokusai Sangyo Kaisha Ltd. and Usui International Corporation have reportedly agreed to pay $5.32 million to settle a class action lawsuit accusing them of engaging in a conspiracy to fix the prices of automotive steel tubes.
On Jan. 8, the plaintiffs filed a motion asking a Michigan federal judge to preliminarily approve the proposed Usui price-fixing class action settlement.
In addition to providing compensation to eligible end-payor Class Members, the Usui defendants have also agreed to cooperate with Class attorneys against the remaining defendants in the price-fixing class action lawsuit.
“This ability to obtain such assistance without protracted and expensive discovery is extremely valuable to the [end-payor plaintiffs],” the Usui price-fixing settlement documents state. “Usui’s cooperation agreement will greatly enhance the [end-payor plaintiffs’] ability to prosecute their claims against the remaining non-settling Defendants.”
The other defendants named in the price-fixing class action lawsuit include Maruyasu Industries Co. Ltd., Curtis-Maruyasu America Inc., Sanoh Industrial Co. Inc., Sanoh America Inc. and other unnamed entities accused of participating in a long-running conspiracy to artificially raise, maintain and/or stabilize prices for automotive steel tubes.
Class Members of the proposed Usui price-fixing settlement include: “All persons and entities that, from December 1, 2003 through the Execution Date, purchased or leased a new Vehicle in the United States not for resale, which included one or more Automotive Steel Tube(s) as a component part, or indirectly purchased one or more Automotive Steel Tube(s) as a replacement part, which were manufactured or sold by a Defendant, any current or former subsidiary of a Defendant, or any co-conspirator of a Defendant.”
The proposed Usui class action settlement will not include claims made by direct purchasers of automotive steel tubes, dealerships, or any state or government agencies.
In November 2016, the U.S. Department of Justice reportedly announced that Usui pleaded guilty to automotive steel tube price-fixing. Following this announcement, more than 50 indirect purchasers of automotive steel tubes filed a class action lawsuit alleging the global price-fixing conspiracy began as early as December 2003.
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 plaintiffs are represented by E. Powell Miller and Devon P. Allard of the Miller Law Firm PC; Steven N. Williams and Elizabeth T. Castillo of Cotchett Pitre & McCarthy LLP; Hollis Salzman, Bernard Persky and William V. Reiss of Robins Kaplan LLP; and Marc M. Seltzer, Steven G. Sklaver, Terrell W. Oxford and Chanler Langham of Susman Godfrey LLP.
The Usui Auto Parts Price-Fixing Class Action Lawsuit is In re: Automotive Steel Tube – End Payor Actions, Case No. 2:16-cv-04003, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.
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