PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The following
release was issued by RG/2 Claims Administration LLC, as Settlement
Administrator, on behalf of Duane Morris LLP
In re Automotive Parts Antitrust Litigation,
No. 12-md-02311
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF
MICHIGAN
Legal Notice
If You Are a Truck and/or Equipment Dealership That Purchased
Vehicles or Bought Certain Parts for a Vehicle in the U.S. Since
1999 You Could Receive Money from Settlements of Class Actions.
Lawsuits involving the prices of certain vehicle component parts
have been settled with certain Defendants in various class actions
in this litigation ("Settling Defendants"). The Settling Defendants
are identified below. The cases are separate class actions within
the lead case known as In re Automotive Parts Antitrust
Litigation, 12-md-02311 (E.D. Mich.), which is currently before
United States District Judge Marianne O.
Battani.
You may be part of a class action settlement if you are a Truck
and/or Equipment dealership that indirectly purchased certain
component parts and/or vehicles for resale or lease containing
these parts ("Dealer") in the District of
Columbia or one or more of the following states:
Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas,
Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New
Hampshire, New Mexico,
New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, South
Carolina, South Dakota,
Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, West
Virginia, and Wisconsin.
What Are The Lawsuits About?
The lawsuits claim that the Defendants in each lawsuit agreed to
unlawfully raise the price of certain motor vehicle component
parts. As a result, dealers of Trucks and/or Equipment who
purchased for resale or lease Trucks and/or Equipment containing
those parts or who indirectly purchased those parts as replacement
parts, which were manufactured or sold by a Defendant or any
subsidiary, affiliate, or alleged co-conspirator of a Defendant may
have paid more than they should have. Although the Settling
Defendants have agreed to settle, the Settling Defendants do not
agree that they engaged in any wrongdoing or are liable or owe any
money or benefits to Plaintiffs. The Court has not yet decided who
is right.
The Court has appointed Duane Morris LLP as interim class
counsel ("Class Counsel") in these lawsuits to represent your
dealership and all other members of the class actions. Your
dealership will not be charged directly by these lawyers, and any
fees that they are paid will come from any settlements or recovery
in these lawsuits. If your dealership wants to be represented by
its own lawyer, it may hire one at its own expense.
Who's Included In The Settlements?
Your dealership is part of one or more of the Settlements if it
is a Truck and Equipment Dealer and falls within the definition of
one or more of the settlement classes ("Settlement Classes")
approved by Judge Battani. The class definitions are set forth in
the full-length Notice, which is available at
www.TruckDealerSettlement.com. The term "Truck and Equipment
Dealer" or "Truck and Equipment Dealership" means an entity or
person authorized to engage in the business of selling or dealing
in Trucks and/or Equipment at retail in the United States. A list of the parts
included in these Settlements and their manufacturers can be found
at www.TruckDealerSettlement.com.
Who Are The Settling Defendants?
The Settling Defendants are: Sumitomo Electric Industries,
Ltd., Sumitomo Wiring Systems, Ltd., Sumitomo Electric Wiring
Systems, Inc. (incorporating K&S Wiring Systems, Inc.),
Sumitomo Wiring Systems (U.S.A.)
Inc. ; Yazaki Corporation and Yazaki North America, Inc.; G.S.
Electech, Inc., G.S. Wiring Systems, Inc., and G.S.W.
Manufacturing, Inc.; DENSO Corporation and DENSO International
America, Inc.; Tokai Rika Co., Ltd. and TRAM, Inc., d/b/a Tokai
Rika U.S.A. Inc.; LEONI Wiring
Systems, Inc. and Leonische Holding Inc.; Furukawa Electric Co.,
Ltd. and American Furukawa, Inc.; Autoliv, Inc., Autoliv ASP, Inc.,
Autoliv B.V. & Co. KG, and Autoliv Japan Ltd.; and ZF TRW
Automotive Holdings Corp. (formerly known as "TRW Automotive
Holdings Corp.") and TRW Deutschland Holding GmbH. A list of the
Defendants, their affiliates, and the alleged co-conspirators for
each case involving the parts described in the Settlement Class
definitions and settlement agreements is available at
www.TruckDealerSettlement.com.
What Do The Settlements Provide?
Generally, you are included if, at any time between 1999 and
2016 for Vehicle Wire Harness Systems or between 2003 and 2015 for
Occupant Safety Systems, you were a dealer of heavy-duty (Class 8)
or medium-duty (Class 4, 5, 6 & 7) trucks, buses, commercial
vehicles (excluding automobiles, light trucks, vans, sports utility
vehicles, crossovers, pickup trucks, and/or similar vehicles sold
by automobile dealers), all-terrain vehicles, construction
equipment, mining equipment, agricultural equipment, railway
vehicles, materials-handling vehicles, and other similar vehicles
("Trucks and/or Equipment") that: (a) purchased Trucks and/or
Equipment containing a Component Part, or (b) indirectly purchased
a Component Part as a replacement part. "Indirectly" means you
bought the vehicle replacement part from someone other than the
manufacturer of the part.
The specific definition of who is included in each Settlement
Class is set forth in each Settlement Agreement between the
Settlement Classes and the Settling Defendants. Each of those
Settlement Agreements, and the related Complaints are accessible on
the website www.TruckDealerSettlement.com.
The Settlement Funds total approximately $5.1 million. Detailed information about the
respective Settlements and the parts involved can be found in the
full-length Notice, which is available at
www.TruckDealerSettlement.com. The amount of money your dealership
may receive, if any, will depend upon where the dealership
purchased the affected vehicles or component parts, the type and
quantity of vehicles and parts your dealership purchased in the
states listed above and the District of
Columbia, and the total number of claims made by eligible
Truck and Equipment Dealers.
What Are My Rights And Options?
1. Opt Your Dealership Out
of the Settlements
If your dealership purchased any of the parts listed in the
Settlement Class definitions as components in the specified
vehicles or as parts and purchased such vehicles or parts in the
states listed in this Notice or the District of Columbia and does not want to be
legally bound by the Settlements, your dealership must exclude
itself ("opt out") in a writing postmarked by November 4, 2016, or it will not be able to sue,
or continue to sue, the Settling Defendants (including all related
entities covered by the release in the individual settlement
agreements) about the legal claims settled in the settlement
agreements.
If your dealership submits a valid and timely request for
exclusion / opt out, it will not share in the proceeds of that
Settlement, and it will not be bound by the judgment. To be valid,
the request for exclusion / opt out must follow the instructions
set forth in the full-length Notice and be postmarked by
November 4, 2016. The full
instructions and requirements for opting out may be viewed at
www.TruckDealerSettlement.com.
2. Object to the
Settlement
If your dealership wishes to object to one or more of the
Settlements or the request for attorneys' fees, reimbursement of
expenses, and service awards, it may write to the Court and counsel
about why it objects. To be considered, your dealership's objection
must be filed according to the procedures set forth in the
full-length Notice and postmarked no later than November 4, 2016. The full instructions and
requirements for objecting to one or more of the Settlements may be
viewed at www.TruckDealerSettlement.com.
3. Attend the Final
Approval Hearing
The Court will hold a Final Approval Hearing at 2:30 p.m. on November 17,
2016, at the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Michigan, Theodore
Levin U.S. Courthouse, 231 W. Lafayette Blvd., Courtroom 272,
Detroit, MI 48226 to decide
whether to approve the Settlements and the request for attorney's
fees, reimbursement of expenses, and service awards. You or
your own lawyer may attend and ask the Court's permission to speak,
but you don't have to participate in the hearing in order to
attend. To request to speak at the Final Approval Hearing, you must
follow the procedures set forth in the full-length Notice no later
than November 4, 2016.
This notice is a summary only. The complete terms, including the
definitions of what parties and claims are being released are set
forth in the full-length Notice, settlement agreements, and the
Court filings which may be obtained at
www.TruckDealerSettlement.com.
SOURCE: J. Manly Parks,
Esq., Duane Morris LLP, 30 S. 17th Street,
Philadelphia, PA 19103, Telephone
215-979-1000, Facsimile 215-979-1020,
www.duanemorris.com; and Tina
Chiango, RG/2 Claims Administration LLC, P.O. Box 59479,
Philadelphia, PA 19102-9479,
Telephone 866-742-4955, Facsimile 215-979-1695,
tchiango@rg2claims.com
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/legal-notice-in-re-automotive-parts-antitrust-litigation-300342858.html
SOURCE RG/2 Claims Administration LLC