Bridgestone has agreed to pay $29.6 million to settle price-fixing allegations in multidistrict litigation in Michigan federal court contending that the company colluded with other companies to rig the market for certain rubber vehicle components.
This is the latest settlement between a proposed class of end-payor plaintiffs who had bought vehicles with the anti-vibration rubber parts at issue or purchased them as replacement pieces. In addition to the $29.6 million payout, Bridgestone says it will provide extensive discovery efforts to help end-payor plaintiffs thoroughly prosecute companies that the plaintiffs do not reach a settlement with or companies whose settlements are not approved.
Stoll Berne represents the Oregon end-payor plaintiffs.
The case is part of an MDL filed in the aftermath of the DOJ’s antitrust investigation into price-fixing and bid-rigging in the auto parts industry, a probe that was launched in 2011 in conjunction with Japanese and European authorities.
The MDL is In re: Automotive Parts Antitrust Litigation, case number 2:13-cv-00803, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.