A US judge has dismissed class-action lawsuits against Goodyear, Bridgestone, and four other tyre manufacturers that accused them of conspiring to overcharge consumers and businesses in the replacement tyre market.
The decision, issued by US Chief District Judge Sara Lioi in the federal court in Akron, Ohio, found that the plaintiffs had not adequately alleged a conspiracy to fix prices and increase profits.
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The lawsuit was filed in February 2024 by three groups of buyers, including automobile dealerships and individual consumers.
It alleged that Goodyear, Bridgestone, Continental, Michelin, Nokian, and Pirelli colluded during the Covid-19 pandemic to fix the prices of replacement tyres in the US.
However, the companies denied any wrongdoing, reported Reuters.
Lioi ruled that the plaintiffs had failed to establish a connection between alleged conduct in Europe and sales and pricing practices in the US.
The lawsuits followed an investigation by European Union antitrust authorities into some of the companies’ non-US offices.
However, the tire companies argued that the European investigation, which had not resulted in any enforcement actions or penalties, should not influence the US court’s decision.
Lioi said that the “plaintiffs have not plausibly alleged that the price increases were irrational or against defendants’ economic self-interest absent prior agreement”.
The plaintiffs, who had estimated last year’s sales for replacement tires at $57bn in the US, argued that the alleged conspiracy led to a 21.4% price increase between 2021 and 2023.
They sought class-action status for buyers from early 2020 to the present.
In their defence, the tire companies described the claims as “far-fetched” and lacking evidence, asserting that their pricing decisions were the result of “rational and competitive behaviour in a concentrated market”.
The companies said that the probe by the European Commission was “insufficient, as a matter of law, to infer an unlawful agreement under US federal and state law”.
