Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST—N.D. Cal.: Settlement of CRT price fixing claims against Samsung gets preliminary approval, (Apr 16, 2014)

By Linda O’Brien, J.D., LL.M.

The federal district court in San Francisco has granted class certification and preliminary approval to a proposed settlement of price fixing claims brought by a class of direct purchasers of cathode ray tubes against Samsung SDI and related companies. The plaintiffs alleged that Samsung participated in a conspiracy with other manufacturers of cathode ray tube (CRTs) to fix prices for CRT products, which includes electronic products containing cathode ray tubes, such as televisions and computer monitors (In re Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Antitrust Litigation, April 14, 2014, Conti S.).

The court found that the prerequisites to a class action under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 were satisfied: (1) hundreds of geographically dispersed class members made joinder of all members impracticable; (2) there were common questions of law and fact that predominated over individual claims; (3) claims or defenses of class plaintiffs were typical of the clams or defenses of the class; (4) the plaintiffs would fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class and have retained experienced counsel; and (5) a class action was superior to individual suits.

For purposes of the settlement, the court certified a plaintiff class consisting of all persons and entities who, between March 1, 1995 and November 25, 2007, directly purchased a CRT product in the United States from any defendant, subsidiary, affiliate, or co-conspirator. Excluded from the class were the defendants, their parent companies, subsidiaries and affiliates, any co-conspirators, all governmental entities, and any judges assigned to oversee any aspect of the suit.

The settlement requires Samsung to pay over $33 million into a settlement fund. The settling entities have agreed to remain in the case for the purpose of computing damages against the remaining non-settling CRT manufacturers.

The plaintiffs have also reached settlements with LG Electronics, Chungwa Picture Tubes Ltd., Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V., Panasonic Corporation, and Toshiba Corporation. A fairness hearing is set for August 22, 2014, regarding the settlement. The suit continues against the remaining non-settling CRT manufacturers.

The case is No. CV-07-5944-SC, MDL No. 1917.

Attorneys: Bruce Lee Simon (Pearson Simon & Warshaw, LLP) and Guido Saveri (Saveri & Saveri, Inc.) for Crago, Inc. Gregory K. Arenson (Kaplan Fox and Kilsheimer LLP) for Meijer, Inc. Eliot A. Adelson (Kirkland & Ellis LLP) and Christopher M. Curran (White & Case) for Hitachi, Ltd., Samsung SDI Co., Ltd., Samsung SDI America, Inc., Toshiba Corp. and LG Eletronics USA, Inc.

Companies: Samsung SDI Co. Ltd.; Samsung SDI America, Inc.; Samsung SDI Brasil, Ltd.; Tianjin Samsung SDI Co., Ltd.; Samsung Shenzhen SDI Co., Ltd.; SDI Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.; SDI Mexico S.A. de C.V.

Cases: Antitrust CaliforniaNews