in Newswire September 29, 2017

German Car Makers Stare Down More Antitrust Allegations

by Corrado Rizzi

Last Updated on September 29, 2017

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Alba et al. v. Bayerische Motoren Werke AG; et al.

Filed: August 29, 2017 ◆§ 3:17-cv-05025

• Read Complaint

Major German car manufacturers find themselves as defendants in another antitrust class action lawsuit.

Defendant(s)

BMW of North America, LLC Volkswagen AG Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. Audi AG Audi of America, Inc. Audi of America, LLC DR. ING. H.C. F. Porsche AG Porsche Cars North America, Inc. Bentley Motors Limited Daimler AG Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC Mercedes-Benz U.S. International Bayerische Motoren Werke AG Robert Bosch LLC Robert Bosch GMBH

Law(s)

State(s)

California

A proposed class action filed in California on August 29 alleges the below defendants have for roughly 20 years conspired to artificially inflate the prices of, as well as stifle technological and mechanical innovation for, their luxury vehicles:

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
BMW North America, LLC
Volkswagen AG
Volkswagen Group of America, Inc.
Audi AG
Audi of America, Inc.
Audi of America, LLC
Dr. Ing. H.C.F. Porsche AG
Porsche Cars of North America, Inc.
Bentley Motors Limited
Daimler AG
Mercedes-Benz USA, LLC
Mercedes-Benz Vans, LLC
Mercedes Benz-U.S. International
Robert Bosch GMBH
Robert Bosch LLC

From the lawsuit:

“Defendants and their unnamed agents and co-conspirators have shared commercially sensitive information with one another for the purpose of reaching unlawful agreements surrounding the development, production, and sale of their vehicles, covering technological and mechanical components, suppliers, costs, and the market.”

The lawsuit alleges that as a result of the defendants’ collusion, proposed class members have paid illegally inflated prices for vehicles manufactured from at least 1990 through the present.

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