$50M Approved for Distribution in Auto Parts Price-Fixing Class Actions
The Ontario, British Columbia and Québec courts have approved a protocol for distributing settlements totalling approximately $50 million in nine class actions relating to the alleged price fixing of certain automotive parts for installation in new vehicles.
Siskinds LLP, Sotos LLP, Camp Fiorante Matthews Mogerman LLP and Siskinds Desmeules said this will be the third and final distribution in the series of 45 auto parts class actions brought in Canada alleging unlawful conspiracies to fix prices of auto parts. The settled defendants—parts manufacturers, not automakers—have not admitted any wrongdoing or liability.
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"In Canada, price-fixing conspiracies are prohibited by the Competition Act. The Canadian auto parts class actions allege that the defendants conspired to fix prices for certain automotive parts, causing Canadian businesses and consumers to overpay for vehicles containing those parts," explained Linda Visser, a partner at Siskinds. "The settlements seek to redress that alleged harm."
As a reminder, there have been two previous rounds of distribution. Where the affected vehicles eligible for payment in the third distribution overlap with those covered in the previous two distributions, there will be no further opportunity to claim in respect of those vehicles.
According to the information posted by the law firms, the following vehicles do not overlap with previous distributions and are eligible for new settlement fund claims:
- BMW/MINI (newly-purchased or leased between December 5, 2014 to May 31, 2017)
- Ford/Lincoln (newly-purchased or leased between August 1, 2015 to May 31, 2017)
- Hyundai/Kia (newly-purchased or leased between January 1, 2007 to May 31, 2016)
- Mercedes-Benz/smart (newly-purchased or leased between November 29, 2004 to May 31, 2017)
- Mitsubishi (newly-purchased or leased between July 1, 1998 to July 31, 2015)
- Suzuki (newly-purchased or leased between July 1, 1998 to May 31, 2016)
Applications for settlement benefits can be filed online at autopartsettlement.ca no later than May 12, 2026. You can visit the website for more information about the settlements, the distribution of settlement funds and the claims process.
In total, between the three distributions, more than $185.5 million has been recovered for the benefit of Canadians in the auto parts class actions.
