Japanese auto parts maker Tokai Rika has agreed to settle claims against it for $34.2 million. The four proposed settlement classes include those who say they were overcharged for heating control panels, occupant safety restraint systems, switches and steering angle sensors. According to the motion for preliminary approval, the classes includes millions of buyers.
The bulk of the settlement, $28.7 million, would go toward the occupant safety restraint systems class, with the switch class pulling in $3.4 million, the heating control panel class getting $1.4 million and the steering angle sensor class receiving $678,000.
The end-payors, or indirect buyers, claim that numerous auto part companies conspired to set prices and sell the parts to auto manufacturers at noncompetitive rates.
The cases are part of the MDL that followed the U.S. Department of Justice’s ongoing investigation into the auto parts industry that has already yielded more than $1 billion in fines.
