Major tire makers call on US court to dismiss price-fixing case

Akron, Ohio – Six major tire makers have asked the US federal court in Akron to dismiss a price-fixing class action lawsuit against them filed earlier this year.

In a joint court filing 23 Sept, Goodyear, Bridgestone, Michelin, Continental, Pirelli and Nokian said the case was a “a knee-jerk reaction” to a move by the European Commission to investigate “potential infringements of European competition law.”

The problem, said the filing, is that the existence of an investigation, particularly one outside the US under a different antitrust regime, is not “sufficient to state a claim, nor is it a basis to infer any wrongdoing.”

“Six months and a collective 352 pages later, Plaintiffs’ amended and consolidated complaints still plead no facts to substantiate their far-fetched claims of conspiracy,” it added.

The joint filing went on to say that the company’s pricing decisions was “a reflection of rational and competitive behaviour” in a competitive market.

In their case, filed in February, consumers, car dealers and other purchasers accused the six tire makers of "artificially raising, fixing, maintaining or stabilising the price of tires" sold in the US. (ERJ report) 

The lawsuite was filed following the launch of a probe by the European Commission into "potential cartel activities by tire makers" on 30 Jan. 

At the time, the Commission carried out unannounced inspections at European headquarters of the six tire makers as "a preliminary investigatory step" into suspected anti-competitive practices. (ERJ report)