Webasto, Espar Settle Class-Action Lawsuit Over Parking Heaters
Two settlements worth up to $15 million have been reached with Webasto and Espar in a class-action lawsuit, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York announced.
Named as defendants were: Webasto Products North America Inc., Webasto Thermo & Comfort North America Inc. and Webasto Thermo & Comfort, Eberspaecher Climate Control Systems GmbH & Co. KG, Espar Inc. and Espar Products Inc.
At issue was whether Webasto and Espar participated in an unlawful conspiracy to raise, fix, maintain and/or stabilize the price of aftermarket parking heaters — heaters and accessories used to heat commercial vehicles — at artificially high levels, according to the court.
Webasto and Espar denied the allegations in the lawsuit but agreed to settle.
The court will hold a fairness hearing Jan. 9 to consider whether to finally approve the settlements.
The settlements include all persons or entities that purchased aftermarket parking heaters in the United States, its territories or possessions, directly from Webasto or Espar, or from any of their parents, predecessors, successors, subsidiaries or affiliates, from Oct. 1, 2007, through Dec. 31, 2012.
The settlements offer automatic payments to class members. If a class member received a notice in the mail and the settlement is approved, a claim does not need to be filed to receive a payment. Estimated payments will be calculated based on available purchase data.
Anyone who believes they are a class member and did not receive a notice in the mail should visit DirectParkingHeaterSettlement.com or call toll-free 1-888-396-9582.
