INDIANAPOLIS (Legal Newsline) - The state of Indiana is suing the makers of electrical distribution systems for vehicles, claiming the company conspired to fix the prices of the products.
Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller filed the lawsuit on June 25 in U.S. District Court in Michigan against American Furukawa and numerous others over an alleged price fixing scheme for automotive wire harness systems.
The harness systems are used to control and direct electronic wire, circuit boards and other components in vehicles, and primarily serves as a vehicle's “central nervous system,” the lawsuit said.
Zoeller claims in the suit that the companies named in the suit conspired to rig bids and raise, fix or maintain the prices of the harness systems between January 2000 and January 2010. Several criminal charges were filed by the U.S. Department of Justice, and some named in the suits have pleaded guilty.
The harness systems were installed in vehicles in the United States and Japan, and the vehicles were also sold in both countries, the lawsuit said.
Zoeller said the total claims from the state in terms of damages exceed $75,000, and he is also seeking court costs.
Representing the state is Kevin Abraham Rynbrand of Rynbrand & Associates, PLLC in Grand Rapids, Mich.
U.S. District Court Eastern District of Michigan case number 2:15-cv-12309.