Obtained More than $1.2 Billion, the Largest Indirect Purchaser Recovery in U.S. History, in Automotive Parts Antitrust Litigation

In re Automotive Parts Antitrust Class Action, 12-md-02311 (E.D. Mich.)

As court-appointed co-lead counsel in this unprecedented MDL, Robins Kaplan has secured more than $1.2 billion in settlements for victims of a massive web of long-running price-fixing, bid-rigging, and market allocation conspiracies throughout the auto parts industry. The civil litigation stems from the largest criminal antitrust investigation in U.S. history. It encompasses 41 separate actions against more than 160 defendants, each involving different auto parts, different anticompetitive agreements, different conspirators, and different timelines. Robins Kaplan represents “end-payor” plaintiffs—consumers and businesses that purchased vehicles containing automotive parts that were subject to price-fixing agreements by the defendants and their co-conspirators. While the Department of Justice has referred to these consumers as the “true victims” of the conspiracy, the DOJ has repeatedly noted that it has not sought any restitution on their behalf. The efforts of Robins Kaplan and its co-lead counsel therefore represent end-payor plaintiffs’ only chance to recover monetary compensation for the harm they have suffered. The cumulative settlement figure, which now amounts to more than $1.2 billion, is the largest antitrust indirect purchaser recovery in U.S. history.