Vehicle Carrier Services Price Fixing Class Action

Court:
Ontario Superior Court of Justice; Supreme Court of British Columbia; Superior Court of Québec.

Class Members:
If you have purchased Vehicle Carrier Services, or purchased or leased a new Vehicle between February 1, 1997 to December 31, 2012, you may be a member of the proposed class. Please contact us if you have questions about the proposed class definition.

Co-counsel:
Foreman & Company is working in concert with CFM Lawyers LLP in British Columbia and Belleau Lapointe s.e.n.c.r.l. in Québec (collectively “Class Counsel”) to prosecute these matters on a national basis.

The content of this page has not been approved by the Court nor does it constitute legal advice. It is for the purpose of providing general information only.

Case Contacts

Vehicle carriers transport large numbers of cars, trucks, or other automotive vehicles including agriculture, construction and mining equipment over oceans using specialized cargo ships known as Roll On/Roll Off vessels (“RoRos”). A RoRo ship is a special type of ocean vessel that allows wheeled Vehicles to be driven and parked on its decks for long voyages. “Vehicle Carrier Services” are the paid ocean transportation of Vehicles by RoRo.

This proposed class action alleges that Defendants and their senior executives participated in illegal and secretive meetings and conspired and/or agreed with each other to fix, maintain, increase, and control the price for the supply of Vehicle Carrier Services and/or enhance unreasonably the prices of Vehicle Carrier Services and to lessen unduly competition in the sale of Vehicle Carrier Services in Canada.

Our lawyers are part of a national consortium who seek to recover the overcharge that class members paid for Vehicle Carrier Services, or for the purchase or lease of new Vehicles that were transported by Vehicle Carrier Services, during the period of February 1, 1997 to December 31, 2012.

Important Notices

New Settlement Reached

A settlement has been reached with the defendants Höegh Autoliners AS and Höegh Autoliners Inc. (“Höegh”). This is the third settlement reached in these actions.

Under the term of it’s settlement, Höegh has agreed to pay CAD $2,729,000 for the benefit of class members in the actions.

The settlement with Höegh is subject to approval of the courts in Ontario, Québec and British Columbia on November 19, 2025, December 15, 2025 and February 5, 2026, respectively. For more detailed information on the Höegh settlement please visit the settlement website at: roroclassaction.com.

Case History

On July 4, 2013, our lawyers issued a Statement of Claim on behalf of all persons or entities in Canada, except British Columbia or Québec, who paid for Vehicle Carrier Services. A second Statement of Claim was issued December 30, 2014 against additional defendants. These actions were consolidated by Order of the Court on January 19, 2017 in a Fresh as Amended Statement of Claim.

Previous Settlements

A settlement agreement was reached with the defendant Compania Sud Americana De Vapores S.A. in 2016 (“CSAV” or the “CSAV Settlement”). Under the terms of the CSAV Settlement, CSAV paid CAD $450,000 for the benefit of settlement class members and provided cooperation to the Plaintiffs in pursuing their claims against the non-settling defendants. The Ontario Court approved the CSAV Settlement on May 29, 2017.

A second settlement agreement was reached with the defendants Mitsui O.S.K., Ltd., Mitsui O.S.K. Bulk Shipping (U.S.A.), Inc. Nissan Motor Carrier Co. Ltd., and World Logistics Service (USA) Inc. in 2022 ("MOL" or the "MOL Settlement"). Under the terms of the MOL Settlement, MOL paid CAD $7,000,000 for the benefit of settlement class members and provided cooperation to the Plaintiffs in pursuing their claims against the remaining non-settling defendants. The Ontario Court approved the MOL Settlement on November 24, 2023.

Discontinuances

On January 19, 2017, the plaintiff in the Ontario action was granted leave to discontinue the Ontario action as against the defendant Toyofuji Shipping Co. Ltd., in accordance with the terms of a Standstill and Tolling Agreement with that company.

Who Represents Me?

Class Members in Canada, excluding British Columbia and Québec, are represented by Foreman & Company:

Email:
classactions@foremancompany.com

Phone:
1.855.814.4575 ext. 107

Mail:
Foreman & Company
4 Covent Market Pl
London, ON N6A 1E2

Class Members in British Columbia are represented by CFM Lawyers LLP:

Email:
info@cfmlawyers.ca

Phone:
1.800.689.2322

Mail:
CFM Lawyers LLP
#400 – 856 Homer Street
Vancouver, BC V6B 2W5

Class Members in Québec are represented by Belleau Lapointe, s.e.n.c.r.l.:

Email:
info@belleaulapointe.com

Phone:
1.888.987.6701

Mail:
Belleau Lapointe s.e.n.c.r.l.
300, Place d'Youville
Office B-10
Montreal, Québec H2Y 2B6

Court Documents

To view case related documents, such as Court approved notices, the settlement agreements, and the Court’s orders, please visit the Settlement Website.