Manawatu 1994 Limited fined $1.25m in price fixing case

Release No. 56

Manawatu 1994 Limited fined $1.25m in price fixing case

Manawatu 1994 Limited, trading under the LJ Hooker banner, has been ordered to pay a penalty of $1.25 million following a hearing in the Auckland High Court.

Manawatu 1994 is the second Manawatu real estate agency to appear in Court after it reached a settlement with the Commerce Commission admitting its conduct breached the prohibition on price fixing in the Commerce Act.

The Commission filed proceedings in December last year alleging Manawatu 1994, Unique Realty and Property Brokers breached the Commerce Act by agreeing with each other, and other Manawatu agencies, that they would each pass on to vendors the full cost of advertising a property on Trade Me.

In his ruling released today Justice Gilbert said: “Participation in price fixing agreements is regarded as serious misconduct. In this case, the agreement involved at least 11 real estate agencies representing most of the relevant market in the region. The agreement therefore had the potential to affect a large number of consumers. Balanced against this, the agreement did not eliminate all price competition, nor was this the aim, and Manawatu did not initiate the agreement.”

A copy of the High Court judgment is available on the Enforcement Response Register.

Unique Realty was earlier this year fined $1.25 million for its role in the Manawatu agreement. The Commission’s case against the remaining Manawatu defendants remains before the Court.

ends

© Scoop Media