Class counsel for businesses and individuals that purchased Thin Film Transistor
Liquid Crystal Display (TFT-LCD) products directly from manufacturers
announced that last week plaintiffs filed a consolidated class action
complaint charging defendants with operating a global cartel to fix the
prices of LCDs sold in the United States.
"After initial introduction, components for consumer electronics products
are typically characterized by downward pricing trends," stated plaintiffs'
counsel Richard M. Heimann of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein,
LLP. "This has not always been the case with TFT-LCDs. For the past
decade, we have seen price manipulation including periods of substantial
price increases. Amongst the reasons for this are that the top manufacturers
agreed to fix and maintain prices and to restrict supply."
"Despite the enormous size of the TFT-LCD industry, over $100 billion,
a small group of corporations dominate it and control the price of TFT-LCDs,"
explained plaintiffs' counsel Bruce L. Simon ofPearson, Simon &
Warshaw, LLP . "Repeatedly these corporations have asserted that
a shortage of manufacturing capacity has been the cause of TFT-LCD price
increases. Any such shortages, plaintiffs allege, were the result of collusion
among defendants to restrict output and artificially increase prices."
Background on the Litigation
Richard M. Heimann of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, and
Bruce L. Simon of Pearson Simon & Warshaw, LLP serve as Court-appointed
Interim Co-Lead Counsel in a class action lawsuit against the world's
leading manufacturers of Thin Film Transistor Liquid Crystal Displays
(TFT-LCDs) and products incorporating TFT-LCDs.
TFT-LCDs are used in flat-panel televisions as well as computer monitors,
laptop computers, mobile phones, personal digital assistants, and other
devices. Plaintiffs, who directly purchased TFT-LCDs from one or more
of the named defendants, allege defendants fixed the prices of the TFT
LCDs, causing plaintiffs to pay more than they should have. The defendants
include multinational electronics conglomerates Hitachi, LG.Philips, Samsung,
Sharp and Toshiba.
Plaintiffs specifically allege that defendants operated a cartel, the purpose
of which was to raise, fix, and stabilize the prices of TFT-LCDs by:
- participating in meetings and conversations, including through various
trade associations and committees, to discuss the prices of TFT-LCD Products
sold in the United States;
- agreeing during these meetings and conversations to charge prices at specified
levels and otherwise to increase and maintain prices of TFT-LCD Products
sold in the United States;
- entering into illegal agreements to restrict the production of LCDs in
order to artificially raise price;
- selling TFT-LCD Products to various customers in the United States at supra-competitive prices.
Proposed Class
Plaintiffs seek to represent the following class of businesses and individuals:
All persons and entities who, between January 1, 1996 and December 11,
2006, directly purchased a TFT-LCD Product in the United States from any
defendant or any subsidiary or affiliate thereof, or any co-conspirator.
Excluded from the Class are defendants, their parent companies, subsidiaries
and affiliates, any co-conspirators, all governmental entities, and any
judges or justices assigned to hear any aspect of this action.
Further information on the litigation, including a copy of the consolidated
class action complaint, can be obtained
here.
Contact Class Counsel
Antitrust laws are designed to protect the economy and to promote competition
among businesses by prohibiting price-fixing and other forms of anticompetitive conduct.
Individuals, businesses, public agencies and other entities that have purchased
TFT LCDs or products incorporating TFT LCDs are welcome to contact plaintiffs'
counsel. Learning of your experience in purchasing these products will
assist us in prosecuting the litigation. We will review your claim without
charge or obligation. You may
contactLieff Cabraser partner Eric B. Fastiff at 1-800-541-7358.
About Lieff Cabraser
Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP is a fifty-plus attorney law
firm with offices in San Francisco, New York and Nashville. The firm represents
businesses, governments and individuals as plaintiffs in class and group
actions as well as in individual lawsuits in cases involving substantial
losses. Since 2003, the National Law Journal has annually selected Lieff
Cabraser as one of the top plaintiffs' law firms in the nation.
Lieff Cabraser has played a prominent role in federal litigation under
the Sherman Act on behalf of businesses in numerous markets including
computer components, prescription drugs, polypropylene carpets, compact
discs, credit cards, linerboard, carbon fiber, plastic laminates, flat
glass, industrial pigments and vitamins. The firm has also successfully
litigated antitrust claims against Microsoft Corporation for monopolistic
practices, and achieved record recoveries against El Paso Gas Co. and
wholesale electric companies for allegedly manipulating the price of energy
in California. Learn more at www.lieffcabraser.com.
About Pearson Simon
Pearson, Simon & Warshaw, LLP is a nationally recognized law firm with
offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Pearson Simon has expertise
in complex cases, including representing plaintiffs in antitrust class
actions. The firm understands how to litigate difficult and large cases
in an efficient and cost effective manner, and it has used these skills
to obtain outstanding results for clients, both through trial and negotiated
settlement.
Pearson Simon's attorneys have been involved in numerous national and
multi-national cases of public importance. Named partner Bruce L. Simon
has held leadership roles in many major antitrust cases that have resulted
in hundreds of millions of dollars in recovery to consumers, including
In re Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) Antitrust Litigation (over $325
million in settlements), In re Methionine Antitrust Litigation (over $100
million in settlements), and In re Citric Acid Antitrust Litigation (over
$80 million in settlements) to name a few.