New York: Japan’s Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd , known as K Line, reached a settlement with plaintiffs in their anti-trust price-fixing case, it was announced in US District Court for the District of New Jersey in Newark, on Thursday.
The Tokyo-based company had been accused of conspiring with other maritime companies to rig bids, fix prices and overcharge for their services in the matter of shipping new motor vehicles for sale.
Plaintiffs in the case included consumers and auto and truck dealerships.
Although the amount of the settlement was not revealed on Thursday, a lawyer for the plaintiffs said the dollar amount would be made public as soon as they filed for preliminary approval of the class settlement.
The lawsuit noted that the market for transporting new vehicles for sale in the US is almost $1 billion annually.
In March three K Line executives were jailed and fined in relation to these events. The sentences varied, with a top jail term of 18 moths and a biggest fine of $20,000.
Some of the other maritime company defendants in this case are seeking to have it dismissed.
