Lines reach another Puerto Rico settlement

Lines reach another Puerto Rico settlement    Horizon Lines Inc., Sea Star Line and Crowley Liner Services have entered into an agreement to pay $5.3 million two settle three lawsuits — one filed by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and two class action lawsuits filed by indirect purchasers of transportation in the Puerto Rico Trade.
   The lawsuits followed a U.S. Justice Department probe into price-fixing in the Puerto Rico-U.S. mainland trade.
   The settlement, dated March 31, is with shippers who indirectly purchased Puerto Rican cabotage services through third parties from May 2002 to April 2008.
   Horizon Lines, in an 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday, said each company will pay one third of the total, or nearly $1.77 million.
   The $5.3 million will be will be distributed to the government of Puerto Rico ($4 million) and attorneys ($1.3 million).
   The settlement calls for the $4 million to be used for “projects and ends that benefit Puerto Rican consumers” because of the “impracticality of identifying all of the indirect purchasers of maritime cabotage services” during the 2002-2008 time span, and the “high cost of administering a direct distribution of money.”
   This latest deal is in addition to settlements with direct shippers that Horizon reached in 2009 and Crowley and Sea Star announced in 2010. In those agreements, the carriers collectively agreed to pay $52.25 million in cash to a settlement fund that will be paid to some of the class members in exchange for a release of all claims. Horizon contributed $20 million to the fund, Sea Star $18.5 million and Crowley $13.75 million.
   Shippers could agree to a cash settlement or opt to have base contract rates frozen for two years, or to opt out of the agreement.
   Some class members have elected to opt out of the settlement, and Horizon said it has until April 29 to decide whether to proceed with that class settlement.
   On March 22 Horizon was ordered by a federal court to pay a $45 million fine for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices for shipping freight between the continental United States and Puerto Rico.