Lawyers acting for British motorists who were charged inflated prices to deliver vehicles to the UK have agreed settlements worth £38m after a years-long battle alleging that they were ripped off by a cartel of shipping firms.
Sky News understands that Mark McLaren, the class representative who brought the claim, and Scott+Scott, the US-based dispute resolution law firm, will announce on Tuesday that they have reached in-principle agreements with two shipping companies: WWL/EUKOR and K Line.
The companies are among a group of logistics giants which transport many of the world’s cars to business customers and consumers around the world.
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Motorists affected by the alleged cartel had bought vehicles from leading automotive manufacturers, including BMW, Ford, Nissan, Toyota, Vauxhall and Volkswagen, between October 2006 and September 2015.
Under the terms to be disclosed on Tuesday, Mr McLaren – a former executive at the consumer group Which? – has agreed a £24.5m settlement with WWL/EUKOR and a £13.25m deal with K Line, according to the claimant’s representatives.
The settlements are subject to approval by the Competition Appeal Tribunal later this week, and follow a £1.5m settlement with another shipping firm, CSAV, which was approved in December last year.
If approved, it will leave outstanding claims worth an estimated £100m against two other defendants, MOL and NYK, with a trial due to begin next month.
Belinda Hollway, partner and head of Scott+Scott’s London office, said: “These in-principle settlements are a very positive development for class members and demonstrate the claim’s momentum ahead of the trial against the remaining defendants in January.”
She added that the settlements were “an important achievement, not just for the claimants that Mark represents, but for the collective proceedings regime in the UK as a whole”.
The European Commission has already fined the companies more than £300m in 2019 after finding that they colluded to fix rates and reductions of capacity, as well as exchanging commercially sensitive information in order to maintain or force up the price of vehicle shipping.
Mr McLaren said: “These settlements are a major milestone in the claim and if approved, will secure significant compensation for the class.
“I am looking forward to the settlement hearing during which we will demonstrate to the Tribunal why these in principle settlements are in the best interest of class members.
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“I have spent much of my career working in consumer protection and strongly believe in compensation for consumers and businesses harmed by unlawful conduct.”
The class action has been funded by Woodsford, a specialist litigation funder.
None of the shipping companies involved in the case could be reached for comment on Monday evening.