Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, ANTITRUST—NDCal: $25 Million Settlement with LG in CRT Price Fixing Case Approved, (Apr 3, 2013)

By Jeffrey May, J.D.

The federal district court in San Francisco has given final approval to a proposed settlement of price fixing claims brought against LG Electronics, Inc. and related companies on behalf of a settlement class of direct purchasers of cathode ray tubes. The plaintiffs alleged that LG participated in a conspiracy with other electronics makers 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 1, 2013, Conti, S.).

In approving the settlement, the court certified a settlement class of all persons who, between March 1, 1995, and November 25, 2007, directly purchased a CRT product in the United States from an alleged conspirator. In addition, the court found the settlement to be fair, reasonable, and adequate. Under the settlement, the class members—in exchange for releasing their claims against LG—will be entitled to shares of a $25 million settlement fund. LG has agreed to assist the plaintiffs in the continuing litigation against non-settling defendants.

The plaintiffs have also reached settlements with Chungwa Picture Tubes LTD, Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V., Panasonic Corporation, and Toshiba Corporation. A fairness hearing is set for July 22, 2013, regarding the $13.5 million Toshiba settlement. The case is continuing against the remaining non-settling defendants.

The case is MDL No. 1917.

Attorneys: Guido Saveri (Saveri & Saveri, Inc.) for direct purchaser plaintiffs. Douglas Wald (Arnold & Porter LLP) for LG Electronics, Inc.

Companies: Chunghwa Picture Tubes, Ltd.; Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.; LG Electronics, Inc.; Panasonic Corp.; Toshiba Corp.

Cases: Antitrust CaliforniaNews