Jax shippers could face more lawsuits

News was prepared under the information support of Online Daily Newspaper on Hellenic and international Shipping "Hellenic Shipping News".

19 Nov 2010

Two Jacksonville-based shipping companies and another that operates out of the port may face more antitrust cases than the class-action lawsuit they have offered $52.25 million to settle, according to the Journal of Commerce. The trade and logistics magazine reported that at least 18 large shippers may pursue their own lawsuits against Sea Star Line LLC, Sea Star Line LLC, and Charlotte, N.C.-based Horizon Lines Inc. The proposed settlement and potential separate lawsuits came after a federal investigation found that the shipping companies colluded on rates and surcharges in the Puerto Rican trade lane between 2002 and mid-April 2008.
“Shippers who opted out of the settlement retain the right to file their own lawsuits against the carriers. Among the shippers that opted out were Home Depot, Kimberly-Clark, Baxter Healthcare, Coca-Cola, ConAgra, Nestle, Payless Shoesource, Sears and motor carrier YRC and its subsidiaries,” wrote JOC editor Joseph Bonney.

Source: Jacksonville Business Journal