Purchasers of Freight Forwarding Services Could be Affected by a Class Action Lawsuit

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WASHINGTON, April 11, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following class-action Settlements have been preliminarily approved by the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York and are being announced by the law firms of Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, LLP; Gustafson Gluek, PLLC; Lockridge Grindal Nauen P.L.L.P and Lovell, Stewart, Halebian, Jacobson LLP:

Proposed Settlements have been reached in a class action lawsuit, which claims that freight forwarders throughout the world conspired to fix prices for their services, including on routes between the U.S. and China, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, and the U.K.  Some of the companies who were sued have agreed to settlements.  These "Settling Defendants" are: 

• ABX Logistics Worldwide NV/SA;
• EGL, Inc. and EGL Eagle Global Logistics;
• Expeditors International of Washington, Inc.;
• Kuehne + Nagel International AG and Kuehne + Nagel, Inc.;
• Nishi-Nippon Railroad Co., Ltd.
• Schenker, Inc. and its parents, subsidiaries, and affiliates, including Deutsche Bahn AG, Schenker AG, and BAX Global, Inc.; and
• Morrison Express Logistics Pte. (Singapore) and Morrison Express Corporation (U.S.A.);
• United Aircargo Consolidators, Inc.;
• UTi Worldwide, Inc.; and
• Vantec Corporation and Vantec World Transport (USA), Inc.

The lawsuit will continue against those companies that have not settled ("Non-Settling Defendants").  A list of the Non-Settling Defendants is available at www.FreightForwardCase.com.  

Individuals and businesses are included in one or more of the Settlements if they: a) Directly purchased Freight Forwarding Services; b) From any of the Settling or Non-Settling Defendants, their subsidiaries, or affiliates; c) From January 1, 2001 through September 14, 2012, d) In the U.S., or outside the U.S. for shipments within, to, or from the U.S.

"Freight Forwarding Services" means freight forwarding, transportation, or logistics services for shipments, including services relating to the organization or transportation of items via air, ocean, rail, and road, both nationally and internationally, and related activities such as customs clearance, warehousing, and ground services. 

Class Members have a choice of whether or not to stay in the Class.  If Class Members choose to stay in the Class, they will be legally bound by all orders and judgments of the Court, and they will not be able to sue, or continue to sue, the Settling Defendants for the issues involved in this lawsuit.  Class Members who choose to stay in the Class may object to all or part of one or more of the Settlements.

In order to receive the benefits of these settlements, Class Members must submit a Claim Form online or by mail by November 22, 2013.  Some Class Members will have received a notice packet in the mail containing a Claim Form.  For those who did not receive a notice packet in the mail, they can submit a Claim Form at www.FreightForwardCase.com.  They may also contact the Claims Administrator to request a Claim Form be mailed to them by calling 1-877-276-7340 (in the U.S. or Canada) or 503-520-4400 (outside the U.S. or Canada) or writing to the following address:

Freight Forwarders Claims Administrator
P.O. Box 3747
Portland, Oregon 97208-3747

For more information regarding this lawsuit and Class Member rights, including how Class Members can exclude themselves and how to get a copy of a detailed notice, please visit www.FreightForwardCase.com, call 1-877-276-7340, or write to:  Freight Forwarders Claims Administrator, P.O. Box 3747, Portland, OR, 97208-3747.

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