Feb. 18, 2020—The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan Southern Division has approved the announcement of a proposed class action settlements with the Mitsubishi Electric, HIAMS, DENSO, and Diamond Electric Defendants, adding up to $5,940,332 in settlements. The lawsuit claimed that Defendants conspired to raise, fix, maintain, and stabilize prices, rig bids, and allocate the supply of ignition coils sold in the United States, in violation of federal antitrust laws.
The settlements affect those who purchased ignition coils in the United States between Jan. 1, 2000 and March 12, 2018 directly from any of the following entities (or depending on the specific settlement agreement, their parents, subsidiaries, affiliates and joint ventures):
- DENSO Corporation
- DENSO International America, Inc.
- DENSO Products & Services Americas, Inc. (f/k/a DENSO Sales California, Inc.)
- DENSO Korea Corporation (f/k/a separately as DENSO International Korea Corporation and DENSO Korea Automotive Corporation)
- Diamond Electric Mfg. Co., Ltd.
- Diamond Electric Mfg. Corporation
- Hitachi, Ltd.
- Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd.
- Hitachi Automotive Systems Americas, Inc.
- Mitsubishi Electric Corp.
- Mitsubishi Electric US Holdings, Inc.
- Mitsubishi Electric Automotive America, Inc.
- Hanshin Electric Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
- Toyo DENSO Co., Ltd.
- Weastec, Inc.
- Yura Corp.
A hearing will be held on June 17, 2020, before the Honorable Marianne O. Battani, United States District Judge, at the Theodore Levin United States Courthouse in Detroit, Courtroom 250 (or such other courtroom as may be assigned for the hearing), for the purpose of determining: (1) whether the proposed settlements with the Mitsubishi Electric, HIAMS, DENSO, and Diamond Electric Defendants totaling $5,940,332 should be approved by the Court as fair, reasonable and adequate; (2) whether the Court should approve the proposed plan of distribution of settlement proceeds to members of the settlement classes; and (3) whether the Court should approve Settlement Class Counsel's requests for an award of attorneys' fees, reimbursement of litigation costs and expenses, and an incentive payment to the Class Representative.
A Notice of Proposed Settlements was mailed to potential Settlement Class members on or about Feb. 7, 2020. The notice describes the litigation and options available to Settlement Class members with respect to the Mitsubishi Electric, HIAMS, DENSO, and Diamond Electric settlements in more detail. The notice also explains what steps a Class Member must take to: (1) remain in the settlement classes and file a Claim Form to share in the settlement proceeds; (2) object to the settlements; or (3) request exclusion from the settlement classes.
The Notice and other important documents related to the settlements can be accessed at www.AutoPartsAntitrustLitigation.com/IgnitionCoils.
Those who believe they may be a member of any of the Mitsubishi Electric, HIAMS, DENSO, or Diamond Electric settlement classes, are urged to obtain a copy of the Notice.
