Case Details

Year Initiated/Committed

2010

Year Resolved

2015

Settlement Amount

$21 million

Lead State

OR

Participating States

OR

Defendant(s)

Hitachi Ltd., Hitachi Displays, Ltd. and HitachiElectronic
Devices (USA), Inc; Chi Mei Corporation, Chi Mei InnoluxCorporation, and Chi Mei Optoelectronics USA Inc; Epson Imaging Devices Corporation and Epson Electronics America, Inc.;.LG Display Co.,.Ltd, and LG
Display America, Înc.; Sharp Corporation and Sharp Electronics Corporation; Samsung Electronics-America, Inc., Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., and Samsung Semiconductor, Inc;. AU Optronics Corporation, AU Optronics Corporation
America (“AU Optronics”); Toshiba Corporation, Toshiba America Electronic Components,.
Inc., Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc., and Toshiba Mobile Display Company, Ltd; HannStar Display Corporation

Case Description

Following guilty pleas to criminal price-fixing by several LCD manufacturers, and a conviction after trial of another, Oregon filed suit against LCD manufacturers, alleging that top executives of several companies held numerous secret meetings from at least 1999 through at least 2006 for the purpose of exchanging information and setting prices on LCD panels. According to the complaint, companies such as Dell, Apple, and Hewlett Packard were among those targeted by the manufacturers’ price-fixing scheme. According to the lawsuit, the illegal overcharges were ultimately borne by state consumers and state government purchasers. The suit also alleges fraudulent concealment of the conspiracy. The lawsuit seeks monetary damages, civil penalties and injunctive relief under the Sherman Act and state antitrust statutes. A number of states filed in the MDL, but Oregon filed originally in federal district court in Oregon, and was transferred, with its consent, to the MDL. Oregon reached individual settlements with many defendants, totaling $21 million (Hitachi Displays, $565,000; Chi Mai, $1,634,600; Epson, $105,000; LG Display, $6,975,000; Sharp, $1,950,000; Samsung, $4.5 million; AU Optronics, $4.25 million; Toshiba, $525,000; HannStar, $1 million)