Canadians could get money from $7 million shipping settlement
Some Canadians could get a chunk of a $7 million car shipping settlement.
Class-action lawsuits were filed against 20 international companies that offer Vehicle Carrier Services across Canada, and settlements were reached in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia.
“Vehicle Carrier Services” are paid international ocean shipping services that use roll-on/roll-off vessels (“RoRo”). The cargo it carries includes vehicles like new and used cars and trucks and agricultural, construction and mining equipment.
A “RoRo” is an ocean vessel that allows wheeled vehicles to be driven on and off the vessel and parked on its decks for ocean transport.
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Mitsui OSK, Ltd., Mitsui OSK Shipping (USA), Inc., Nissan Motor Carrier Co. Ltd. and World Logistics Service (USA) Inc. allegedly overcharged customers for these car shipping services, participating in an “unlawful conspiracy” to fix, raise, maintain or control prices of Vehicle Carrier Services in Canada between 1997 and 2012.
“These allegations have not been proven in Court, and the four companies have not admitted to any wrongdoing,” reads the notice of certification released on Wednesday.
Who’s eligible for this car shipping settlement?
If you paid to ship a car or other vehicles like trucks, agricultural, construction and mining equipment by ocean freight to Canada between February 1, 1997, and December 31, 2012, you could get some cash from this settlement.
This includes vehicles purchased or leased and transported to Canada via RoRo.
The four companies have agreed to pay $7 million in exchange for fully releasing the claims against them.
They have also agreed to provide information and cooperation to help with the ongoing case against the non-settling defendants.
The settlement remains subject to approval by the courts in Quebec, BC, and Ontario.
If approved, the settlement funds won’t be distributed immediately as the class action is ongoing against other defendants.
The courts will decide how the money will be distributed and how Canadians can make a claim at a future date, according to the notice of certification.
You can learn more about the car shipping class-action settlement in Quebec here and in BC here.
You can go here for more details on the overall class-action lawsuit.
And there are plenty of other settlements Canadians could cash in on here.
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