Seattle, WA: An antitrust class action lawsuit has been filed on behalf of a group of Honda and Toyota automobile owners against eight auto-part suppliers after the federal government released information detailing an international price-fixing scheme that may have cost American purchasers and lessees of a wide range of cars millions of dollars in the form of inflated car prices over a 10-year period.
The defendants supply automotive wire harnesses and related products in a wide range of Japanese- and American-built cars. According to the complaint, the defendants collectively dominate the global automotive wire harness systems market. Wire harnesses are used to direct and control electronic components, wiring and circuit boards in cars.
Among the defendants is Furukawa Electric (tyo:5801) who was cited in an agreement announced last week in which three Furukawa Electric's executives agreed to plead guilty and pay a $200 million fine for the company's participation in the scheme, and three of its executives also agreed to serve prison terms ranging from a year to 18 months in U.S. prison for their role.
The vehicles purchased by plaintiffs during the class period include a 2009 Honda CRV, a 2005 Toyota Prius and a 2008 Toyota Camry.
According to published documents, Furukawa employees Junichi Funo, Hirotsugu Nagata and Tetsuya Ukai -- executives who held executive positions in Japan and in the United States - conspired to fix prices and agreed during meetings and conversations to allocate the supply of wire harnesses and other products on a model-by-model basis. The Justice Department states that the price-fixing scheme was in play from January 2000 until at least January 2010.
Authorities from the U.S., the European Union and Japan have investigated a conspiracy in the market for automotive wire harness systems since Feb. 2010 or earlier.
The list of defendants also include Delphi Automotive, Lear Corporation, Leoni Ag, Sumitomo Electric Industries, S-Y Systems Technologies GMBH, Yazaki Corporation and Yazaki North America.
