Horizon Lines settles for US$20m, rate freeze in Puerto Rico case

US Jones Act carrier Horizon Lines has reached a settlement agreement in a class action lawsuit accusing the company, and several other domestic shippers, of breaching antitrust laws on the Puerto Rico-US trade. Horizon Lines will pay the plaintiffs US$20m in damages or give them the option of having shipping rates frozen for two years if they are still customers of Horizon Lines. The agreement needs to receive court approval to be accepted.

 

The case was launched by clients led by Puerto Rico's Century Packing Co who accused Horizon Lines and the other three carriers who almost completely dominate trade between Puerto Rico and the US of conspiring to use jacked-up fuel price surcharges to artificially inflate revenues between 2002 and 2008.

 

The US Justice Department is still investigating Horizon Lines for criminal antitrust violations, and last month three former executives were given prison sentences after pleading guilty to another antitrust charge, all of them in management positions in the company's Puerto Rico operation.

 

The company still faces a total of 56 class action suits relating to the trades between the US, Alaska, Hawaii and Guam. It has said that it will "vigorously defend itself" against those suits.

 

 

(Source: Maritime Global Net)