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.
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.
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.
To comment on the settlement
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
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.
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 |