$1.1B class action commenced against German car manufacturers alleging they colluded to supply and install inferior parts in vehicles sold to Canadians to maximize profits

TORONTO, July 26, 2017 /CNW/ - Strosberg Sasso Sutts LLP announced today that a class action was commenced against BMW, MERCEDES-BENZ, VOLKSWAGEN, AUDI and PORSCHE alleging that they conspired to set the price, output, innovation, and technical standards of components used in the motor vehicles they manufactured, and that were sold in Canada.

The Notice of Action alleges that these German car manufacturers colluded in this way for over two decades and that the conspiracy caused and is causing significant loss and damage to consumers in Canada who purchased or leased motor vehicles manufactured by the defendants.

The Class Action was filed in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on behalf of all Canadians, excluding residents of Quebec, who purchased or leased vehicles from the above-mentioned manufacturers beginning in the mid-1990s until present.

"If the allegations in the claim prove to be true, then Canadian consumers have been harmed by a long-standing cartel of German car manufacturers to provide inferior components in their vehicles while charging premium prices for these vehicles," said David Wingfield, Partner at Strosberg Sasso Sutts LLP.

The Class Action suggests that the defendants conspired, agreed or arranged with each other directly or indirectly to fix, maintain, increase or control the price, the supply of, the design of, or the technical standards of, components used in or forming part of the fuel systems, exhaust systems, emissions systems, engines, transmissions, braking systems, and electronic systems of motor vehicles manufactured by the defendants in breach of the Competition Act.

"Dieselgate resulted in North American settlements valued in excess of $10 billion dollars.  It appears that European Union anti-trust regulators have widened their investigation and that German auto manufacturers may have colluded to sell consumers vehicles with components that were, and are, inferior to what has been marketed," said Jay Strosberg, Partner at Strosberg Sasso Sutts LLP. "Canadian consumers unwittingly may be part of an even more widespread conspiracy than Dieselgate."

The lawsuit seeks $1B in damages and an additional $100 million in punitive damages.

Vehicle owners wishing to obtain more information can visit https://www.strosbergco.com/class-actions/autopartscartel/

Strosberg Sasso Sutts LLP is one of Canada's preeminent boutique litigation law firms. The firm has recovered more than $2 billion dollars for its clients. For more information about the law firm, please visit www.strosbergco.com.

SOURCE Strosberg Sasso Sutts LLP

For media information please contact: Naomi Strasser, Aerial Communications Group, 416.787.6577, [email protected]