TECUMSEH Products Co has moved to reject a price-fixing suit brought by indirect purchasers of its refrigerant compressors, says the website Law 360. Tecumseh claims the purchasers are too far removed from the alleged conspiracy to claim it harmed them.
The suit is part of anti-trust multi-district litigation over refrigerant compressors. Among those also named as defendants in the litigation are appliance makers Whirlpool SA, Panasonic Corp and compressor manufacturers Embraco North America Inc, Danfoss A/S and ACC USA.

Tecumseh had earlier agreed to pay direct purchasers of its compressors $7m.

The litigation comes following raids on offices of a number of refrigeration compressor manufacturers' offices across Europe, the US and Brazil in February 2009. In the operation code-named Zero Degrees, 60 federal agents in Sao Paulo searched Whirlpool offices and seized computer equipment. Unannounced raids were also carried out at the offices of Whirlpool and Tecumseh in Brazil and the US, and Danfoss facilities in Denmark, Germany and the US. Further information from Law360