Winnipeg lawyer launches class action lawsuit against auto parts manufacturers

A Winnipeg lawyer wants to put money back in drivers' pockets.

Norman Boudreau launched a class action lawsuit against seven international auto parts manufacturers Thursday.

“We're pleading that the auto part makers, and those are international auto part makers, have been conspiring to raise the price of the parts,” Boudreau said.

Boudreau filed the suit claiming seven of the world's leading automotive part manufacturers and their subsidiaries conspired to fix the price of parts.

The suit claims those inflated prices were passed onto automobile manufacturers and eventually people who bought or leased vehicles between January 2000 and February 2010.

It affects parts used in some of the most popular vehicles sold in Canada.

No dollar figure is established yet for the class action.

The suit has yet to be certified by the courts.

“I anticipate it's going to be quite significant. These auto part makers have already been fined by the competition bureau, Canada Competition Bureau, over $50 million in Canada alone,” Boudreau said.

The 200 page document lists guilty pleas made in the United States by some of the companies listed in this suit.

The guilty pleas resulted in billion dollar criminal fines for price-fixing and bid-rigging parts including starter motors, heater control panels and break hoses, amongst others.

“This suit has been filed in British Columbia, now being filed in Manitoba, we anticipate it being filed across Canada as well,” said Boudreau.

For more information on the lawsuit, visit the Boudreau Law website.

The defendants listed in the suit are:

Denso Corporation, Denso Manufacturing Canada, Inc., Denso Sales Canada, Inc., Denso International America, Inc., Denso International Korea Corporation, Asmo Co., Ltd., Asmo North America, Llc, Asmo Manufacturing, Inc., Hitachi Automotive Systems, Ltd., Hitachi Automotive Systems Americas, Inc. Hitachi Metals, Ltd. (being successor in interest to Hitachi Cable, Ltd.), Hitachi Metals America, Llc (being successor in interest to Hitachi Metals America, Ltd.), Hitachi Cable America Inc., Hitachi America, Ltd. (D/B/A Hitachi Canada), Mitsuba Corporation, American Mitsuba Corporation, Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd., Sumitomo Electric Wintec America, Inc., Sumitomo Wiring Systems, Ltd., Sumitomo Electric Wiring Systems, Inc., K&S Wiring Systems, Inc., Sumitomo Wiring Systems (U.S.A.), Tokai Rika, Co. Ltd., Tram, Inc. D/B/A Tokai Rika U.S.A. Inc., Yazaki Corporation, Yazaki North America, Inc., and Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd., And American Furukawa, Inc.