Another complaint has been filed accusing six tire manufacturers of price fixing.
On Feb. 27, plaintiff John "Jack" Bengel, “on behalf of himself and all others similarly situated,” filed a class action complaint accusing Bridgestone Corp., Continental Tire the Americas LLC, Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., Michelin North America Inc., Nokian Tyres and Pirelli & Cia SpA of violating Sections 1 and 3 of the Sherman Act.
Filed in the United States District Court Northern District of Ohio, the complaint accuses the aforementioned companies of engaging in “conspiracy” designed “to fix the prices of new replacement tires for passenger cars, vans, trucks and buses sold in the United States” and is seeking injunctive relief, payment for damages and other redresses.
The new complaint follows on the heels of a similar complaint filed by another individual in early-February in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
The new filing cites “dramatically increased” tire prices, among other factors, as evidence of wrongdoing. “Defendants repeatedly claimed that their price increases were due to increased output costs,” according to the complaint. “That purported justification was pretextual.”
The complaint goes on to accuse the tire manufacturers of “agreeing on coordinated price increases.”
MTD has reached out to tire manufacturers for their comments.
A spokesperson for Bridgestone told MTD that the company "does not comment on ongoing litigation."
"We do not comment on an ongoing legal matter," a spokersperson for Nokian told MTD. "We always operate in compliance with laws and regulations, ensuring everything is done correctly. We comply with relevant anti-trust laws and do not tolerate any violations of them."
A spokesperson for Continental said that"integrity is an integral part of Continental’s corporate culture and is anchored in our code of conduct, which applies to all Continental companies worldwide. We have a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to compliance and thoroughly follow up on and investigate all alleged allegations. Our policy to not comment regarding active litigation."
“Pirelli, while confirming the correctness of its own conduct and that it has always acted in full compliance with the law and regulations, announces that it is ensuring full support to the authorities in the context of the ongoing investigation," a Pirelli spokesperson told MTD.
"Michelin strictly complies with antitrust laws in all countries where it operates," a Michelin spokesperson told MTD. "We will cooperate with the regulators. As a matter of policy, we do not comment on pending litigation."
Download the full complaint filing below:
