Lawyers representing British motorists who had to pay inflated prices to deliver vehicles to the UK have agreed settlements worth £38 million after a years-long battle alleging they were defrauded by a cartel of shipping companies.
Sky News understands that Mark McLaren, the representative of the group which filed the complaint, and Scott+Scott, the US dispute resolution law firm, will announce on Tuesday that they have reached agreements in principle with two shipping companies : WWL/EUKOR and Line K.
The companies are part of a group of logistics giants that transport many cars from around the world to business and consumer customers around the world.
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Motorists affected by the alleged cartel had purchased vehicles from major car manufacturers, including BMW, Ford, Nissan, Toyota, Vauxhall and Volkswagen, between October 2006 and September 2015.
Under terms to be disclosed on Tuesday, Mr McLaren – a former executive at consumer group Which? – reached a £24.5m settlement with WWL/EUKOR and a £13.25m deal with K Line, according to the claimant’s representatives.
The settlements are subject to approval by the Competition Appeal Tribunal later this week and follow a £1.5 million settlement with another transport company, CSAV, which was approved in December of last year.
If approved, it will leave outstanding claims worth an estimated £100 million against two other defendants, MOL and NYK, with a trial expected to begin next month.
Belinda Hollway, partner and director of Scott+Scott’s London office, said: “These tentative settlements are a very positive development for class members and demonstrate the momentum of the claim ahead of trial against the other defendants in January. »
She added that the settlements were “a significant achievement, not only for the claimants Mark represents, but for the UK insolvency regime as a whole”.
The European Commission has already fined the companies more than £300 million in 2019 after finding they colluded to fix tariffs and capacity cuts, as well as exchanging commercially sensitive information in order to maintain or increase the price of vehicle transport.
Mr McLaren said: “These settlements are a major step forward in the claim and, if approved, will secure significant compensation for the group.
“I look forward to the settlement hearing where we will demonstrate to the Court why these tentative settlements are in the best interests of the class members.
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“I have spent much of my career working in consumer protection and strongly believe in compensating consumers and businesses harmed by illegal behavior.”
The class action lawsuit was funded by Woodsford, a litigation funder.
None of the shipping companies involved in the case could be reached for comment Monday evening.