Civil settlements recently have exceeded $260 million in federal litigation stemming from the ongoing U.S. criminal antitrust investigation into auto parts supplier price fixing.
Most recently, U.S. District Judge Marianne Battani gave preliminary approval to a deal for TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. and German affiliate TRW Deutschland Holding GmbH to settle for $8 million with direct purchaser plaintiffs, which are other auto companies who allegedly bought components at colluded prices.
Since February, Hitachi Automotive Systems Ltd. and Panasonic Corp. have also agreed to pay nearly $83 million combined to settle with dealership and consumer plaintiffs.
