Victoria, British Columbia – Auto industry newsletter UCanImport Publications is supporting the British Columbia-based law firm of Dinning Hunter Lambert & Jackson, which has filed a lawsuit in B.C. against various auto manufacturers for practices in contravention of Canada’s Competition Act.

UCanImport has agreed to act as a conduit for the lawsuit by hosting related information and registration documentation on its Web site at UCanImport.com.

The lawsuit, filed on February 26, 2008, alleges that the Canadian branches of BMW, Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Subaru, Toyota and Volvo implemented policies designed to curtail imports from the U.S. into Canada, contrary to the federally-regulated Competition Act. The policies include preventing U.S. dealerships from selling new vehicles to Canadians, implementing new mandatory documentation requirements with fees for distribution, voiding OEM warranties, dictating unnecessary modifications, charging exploitive labour rates for modifications or inspections, and forcing Canadians to wait up to 90 days for the services and inspections deemed mandatory prior to vehicle registration. The lawsuit also alleges that some manufacturers have refused to provide the mandatory documentation to Canadians, effectively blocking their vehicle certification in Canada.