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US: Heater Manufacturer pleads guilty to price fixing

 |  September 9, 2014

The US Department of Justice announced that Espar pleaded guilty to one count of price-fixing under the Sherman Act in a scheme involving parking heaters for commercial vehicles that ran from October 2007 through December 2012. Parking heaters heat the inside of a vehicle when the engine is not running.

According to the press release, Espar, a parking heater manufacturer, agreed to pay a criminal fine and cooperate in the DOJ’s ongoing investigation. Espar and its co-conspirators discussed prices for parking heaters and agreed to set a price floor for parking heater kits sold to aftermarket customers. Further, the companies agreed to coordinate the timing and amount of price increases, and enforced the agreement by exchanging information. Investigation into the other companies is ongoing, with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

 

Full Content: The National Law Review

 

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