$53.55 Million Settlement Affects Purchasers of Freight Forwarding Services Providing Domestic and International Shipping

News provided by

Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP , Gustafson Gluek, PLLC

11 Jul, 2016, 09:15 BST

MINNEAPOLIS, July 11, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is being released by the law firms of Gustafson Gluek PLLC; Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP; Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P.; and Lovell Stewart Halebian Jacobson LLP.

If individuals or companies used the services of certain freight forwarders, they may be entitled to a potentially significant cash payment from class action Settlements.  Settlements have now been reached with the final two Defendants.  Settlements were previously reached with 29 Defendants.  A full list of all Defendants is available at the settlement website: www.FreightForwardCase.com.     

The Settlements involve a lawsuit claiming that certain freight forwarding companies secretly agreed to prices for their freight forwarding services worldwide, including on routes in the U.S. and between the U.S. and China, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, India, Germany, the U.K. and other parts of Europe.  The Settling Defendants deny that they did anything wrong. 

Freight Forwarders provide transportation, or logistics services for shipments relating to the organization or transportation of items via air and ocean, which may include ancillary rail and truck services, both internationally and nationally, as well as related activities such as customs clearance, warehousing, and ground services.

A Class Member is included in one or more of the Settlements if they: (1) Directly purchased Freight Forwarding Services; (2) from any of the Defendants, their subsidiaries, or affiliates; (3) from January 1, 2001 through January 4, 2011; (4) in the U.S., or outside the U.S. for shipments within, to, or from the U.S. 

DHL and Hellmann will establish a $53,550,000 Settlement Fund.  The amount of benefits for each purchaser will be determined by the Plan of Allocation, which is posted on www.FreightForwardCase.com.

Important Information 

  • Purchasers will need to submit a Claim Form, online or by mail, by April 3, 2017 to get a payment from the Settlements.  If purchasers already submitted a Claim Form for the first or second round of Settlements, they do not need to file a new claim.  They will automatically be paid from this round of Settlements.
  • Purchasers who do nothing will not get a payment and give up the right to sue.
  • Purchasers who want to keep the right to sue DHL or Hellmann must exclude themselves by September 20, 2016. 
  • Purchasers who stay in the Settlements can object to them by September 20, 2016.

The Court will hold a hearing on November 4, 2016 to consider whether to approve: (1) the Settlements, (2) a request for attorneys' fees up to 33% of the Settlement Fund, plus interest, and reimbursement for litigation expenses; and (3) a request for Class Representative service awards of no more than $75,000 each. 

For more information regarding the Settlements and Class Member rights, please visit www.FreightForwardCase.com, call 1-877-276-7340 (U.S. & Canada) or 1-503-520-4400 (International), or write to: Freight Forwarders Claims Administrator, P.O. Box 3747, Portland, OR, 97208-3747.

Related Links

http://www.FreightForwardCase.com

SOURCE Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP; Gustafson Gluek, PLLC; Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P and Lovell, Stewart, Halebian, Jacobson LLP