Slater Vecchio seeks certification of a proposed class action on behalf of individuals who purchased or leased automobiles or who purchased automobile parts whose prices were inflated due to anti-competitive conduct by the Defendants between 2002 to 2016. The lawsuit alleges that Musashi Bockenau, Bharat Forge and Hirschvogel Umformtechnik entered into a conspiracy to suppress and eliminate competition in the forged steel industry.
Through this alleged conspiracy, the Defendants agreed to manipulate the price of forged steel products, suppress and eliminate competition in manufacturing, marketing, sale, and distribution of the forged steel products, and to conceal their activities. These forged steel products were purchased by automobile manufacturers at an inflated cost. These increased costs were passed onto consumers who purchased automobiles at more expensive prices than they would have had the Defendants not colluded to increase the price of forged steel.
A class action is a vehicle through which a group of individuals who have suffered a loss can receive compensation from those responsible for that loss.
This class action is brought on behalf of individuals who purchased or leased an automobile, or who purchased automobile parts, containing the forged steel products manufactured, marketed, distributed or sold by the Defendants between approximately October 2002 and December 2016. The affected automobiles include:
Individuals who purchased or leased these products are part of the proposed group. If certified by the Courts to proceed as a class action, these individuals will be referred to as “Class Members”. Persons who meet the criteria set out by the Court to be a member of the class do not need to take formal steps to become a member, they are automatically considered part of the class.
Individuals who meet the proposed criteria for a Class Member should locate and keep documents proving ownership or leasehold of the automobiles or automobile parts described above.
If you purchased or leased one of these automobiles or want to know more about this class action, we invite you to submit your information through the “Contact Form” on this webpage and a representative from Slater Vecchio LLP will reach out to you.
