Vehicle Carriers Class Action

Case Info.

Did you pay to ship a car or other equipment on wheels by ocean freight from an overseas location to Canada between February 1, 1997 and December 31, 2012? If so, your legal rights could be affected.

Class Actions are underway across Canada which allege overcharges for Roll On Roll Off (RO/RO) ocean freight shipping of vehicles, bought or leased during that time.

Class action lawsuits have been brought across Canada against 20 international Ro/Ro shipping companies.

Those lawsuits allege that people or companies in Canada who paid for international Vehicle Carrier Services, including as part of the cost of the purchase or lease of a new car, may have overpaid for the cost of those services between February 1, 1997 and December 1, 2012 (the Class Period).

“Vehicle Carrier Services” means paid international ocean shipping services via roll on/roll off vessels (“RoRo”) of cargo, such as new and used cars and trucks, as well as agricultural, construction and mining equipment (collectively “Vehicles”). A “RoRo” is a type of ocean vessel that allows wheeled vehicles to be driven on and off the vessel and parked on its decks for ocean transport. It is alleged that among other things, customers were overcharged for Vehicle Carrier Services as the defendants participated in an unlawful conspiracy to fix, raise, maintain, increase, or control the price for Vehicle Carrier Services. 
 

Current Status of the Class Action:

• A Settlement Agreement has been reached with Compania Sud Americana De Vapores S.A. ("CSAV") which is one of 20 defendants involved in this litigation. CSAV has agreed to pay CAD $450,000.00 for the benefit of Settlement Class Members and to provide co-operation to the Plaintiffs in pursuing their claims against the non-setttling defendants. CSAV did not have any direct commerce to Canada of Vehicle Carrier Services during the relevant time period. The cooperation agreed to includes information provided to the United States Department of Justice. CSAV has also committed to making available an employee with relevant knowledge, whitin certain constraints.

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• The litigation continues against the non-settling defendants

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• The CSAV Settlement Agreement remains subject to approval by the Courts in Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec. A Motion to approve the Settlement Agreement is scheduled to be heard on: 
   
• Ontario Superior Court of Justice on May 29, 2017 at 9:30 am at 80 Dundas Street, London, Ontario
• Supreme Court of British Columbia on June 7, 2017 at 9:00 am at 800 Smithe Street, Vancouver, British Columbia
• Superior Court of Quebec on May 16, 2017 at 12:00 pm at 1, rue Notre-Dame Est, Montreal, Quebec
   

At these hearing, the Courts will determine whether the settlement is fair, reasonable and in the best interests of the Class Members. The lawyers for the Plaintiffs will also be requesting that legal fees of up to 25 percent of the settlement funds plus disbursements and applicable taxes be approved by the Courts and paid out of the settlement funds.

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• The settlement amount ($450,000), net of notice costs, Class Counsel fees, disbursements and applicable taxes will be held in an interest bearing trust account for the benefit of the Settlement Class Members (the “Settlement Fund”). 

The Settlement Fund will not be distributed to Class Members at this time. The continuing litigation may or may not result in further settlements or judgments. If there is a further recovery, it will be added to the present monies and an efficient distribution will be made at an appropriate time so as to avoid the cost of facilitating multiple distributions. The Courts will approve when and to whom the settlement funds will be distributed.
 

Your Options:

To comment on the settlement

1. If you do not oppose the proposed Settlement Agreement, you do not need to appear at the hearing or take any other action at this time. If the Settlement Agreement is approved by the Courts further notices will be posted;
2. If you wish to comment on or object to the Settlement Agreement, you must deliver a written submission to the appropriate lawyer below by May 1, 2017. The lawyer will forward any submissions to the appropriate Court.

Foreman & Company 1-855-814-4575  classactions@foremancompany.com 4 Covent Market Place Attention: Jonathan Foreman London, Ontario N6A 1E2

Belleau Lapointe LLP 1-888-987-6701 info@belleaulapointe.com 306 Place d'Youville, office B-10 Attention: Maxime Nasr Montréal, Québec H2Y 2B6

Camp Fiorante Matthews Mogerman 1-800-689-2322 info@cfmlawyers.ca Suite 400, 856 Homer Street Attention: David G.A. Jones Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 2W5

Opt-out of the proceeding

1. If you do not want to be a class member for the Vehicle Carrier Service Class Action, you must opt-out by May 10, 2017. To opt-out you must send a signed written election to opt-out by mail, courier or email (roroclassaction@ricepoint.com) to:

Mail Vehicle Carriers Class Action Opt-Out Administrator PO Box 3355 London, ON N6A 4K3

Courier RicePoint Administration Inc. 1480 Richmond St Suite 204 London, ON N6G 0J4

The election should include (a) your full name and current address and (b) a statement indicating you wish to be excluded from the proceedings. If you opt-out you will not be able to participate in the Settlement or any future Settlement of Judgement. You cannot opt back in at a later date. You may be able to bring your own lawsuit at your own expense. 

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Important Dates:

Quebec Settlement Approval Hearing	May 16, 2017
Ontario Settlement Approval Hearing	May 29, 2017
British Columbia Settlement Approval Heaing	June 7, 2017
Objection Deadline	May 1, 2017
Opt-Out Deadline	May 10, 2017