Four more class action cases against Teo Siong Seng’s Singamas, other alleged container cartel members

[SINGAPORE] Four more class action lawsuits have been filed against shipping magnate Teo Siong Seng’s Singamas Container Holdings and the three Chinese container manufacturers that have been charged by the United States over alleged anti-trust acts.

However, none of these cases named Teo and the executives of the other alleged cartel members as defendants, unlike the first two class action suits.

Meanwhile, the first lawsuit against Singamas and Teo, as well as the other defendants that was brought by American industrial component manufacturer CA Spalding has been withdrawn.

CA Spalding discontinued the class action complaint in July without any explanations, a month after it was lodged against Teo and Hong Kong-listed Singamas where he is the CEO, as well as the Chinese container manufacturers and some of their executives.

However, it updated the court that none of the defendants have filed a response or applied for a summary judgement that seeks a ruling without a full trial.

China International Marine Containers (CIMC), Shanghai Universal Logistics Equipment, and CXIC Group Containers and Singamas, as well as some of their high-ranking executives including Teo, have been accused by the US Department of Justice of controlling container output to artificially inflate prices of the steel boxes during the pandemic.

Since the prosecution announced criminal indictment against the four container markers and seven of their executives in May, a slew of civil class lawsuits that are separate from the criminal action have spawned – all filed in the district court for the northern district of California.

A shipping container provider in North America, a manufacturer of vacuum packaging machinery and films, and three individuals filed the latest four class action lawsuits against Singamas and the aforementioned Chinese makers, a search on the US electronic court records system showed.

They seek damages, restitution and disgorgement of profits from the defendants. Although no figures were given, they asked the court to treble the amount of damages.

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Claiming that they purchased containers directly and indirectly respectively, Atlantic Coast Container and individual Danyl Witte lodged their lawsuits in June.

VC999 Packaging Systems said in its complaint in July that it paid for overseas shipping of its manufactured products in such containers as well as the import of products in them.

Rey Salazar and Andrew Baker brought a class action in September for themselves and on behalf of those that purchased containers indirectly from the defendants.

Meanwhile, Singamas has indicated in its notice through its lawyers to the court that it intends to strike out the suit from Daybreak Express – the second class action it, Teo, the Chinese makers and their executives face.

Singamas disputed that the claimant had properly served the court documents on it, as well as argued that it lacks the required jurisdiction, and has failed to state a claim among the grounds of dismissal.

Since being named in the US indictment, the 71-year-old Teo has taken leave of absence from several of his roles, including at Pacific International Lines, the shipping company his family founded and where he serves as executive chairman.