Mercedes-Benz Antitrust LitigationA federal court in New Jersey has ruled that a lawsuit that accuses Mercedes-Benz and its New York area dealers of engaging in a conspiracy to fix the price of new Mercedes-Benz automobiles may proceed as a class action on behalf of all purchasers of such vehicles in the New York region from 1991 through 1999. The lawsuit is based in part on the allegations made by one of the dealers in a countersuit against Mercedes. The class action lawsuit on behalf of purchasers or lessees of new vehicles was filed in 1999. In 2002 Mercedes revealed in its SEC filings that a grand jury had been empanelled to hear evidence relating to the allegations. On November 8, 2007, the Court granted preliminary approval of a settlement with Mercedes-Benz U.S.A ("MBUSA") and Mercedes-Benz Manhattan, Inc. ("MBM") for $9.5 million, bringing the total settlements in the case to approximately $17.5 million, or approximately 50% of what Plaintiffs' expert economist calculated as actual damages for the Class. Notice and proof of claim forms should be mailed to class members in the next 30 days. A hearing on final approval of the Settlement is currently scheduled for March 11, 2008. If this settlement is approved, this settlement will conclude the litigation. Claimants must submit a proof of claim in order to receive any proceeds from any settlement and no claimants will be paid until after Final Approval. For more information, please see Settlement Documents posted to the right of this page. |
