Oregon Seeks Approval of $21M LCD Price-Fixing Settlement

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Last week, the state of Oregon asked a California federal judge to grant approval to a $21 million antitrust settlement over an alleged price-fixing conspiracy in the LCD display products industry, which would put an end to the state attorney general’s indirect purchaser claims.

Under the terms of the proposed settlement, LG Display will pay Oregon nearly $7 million, Samsung will pay $4.5 million, AU Optronics will pay $4.25 million, Sharp will pay nearly $2 million, Chi Mei will pay $1.6 million, HannStar will pay $1 million, Hitachi Displays will pay $565,400, Toshiba will pay $525,000 and Epson will pay Oregon $105,000 to exit multidistrict litigation with the state.

The litigation against the LCD manufacturers started back in 2006 when regulators from around the world announced they were investigating a possible price-fixing conspiracy in the industry. Subsequently, the LCD makers were targeted with several antitrust lawsuits.

On Aug. 10, 2010, Oregon filed its action against the LCD manufacturers on behalf of indirect purchasers of LCD-screen televisions, computer monitors and laptops. The state’s antitrust lawsuit was transferred into the multidistrict litigation (MDL) a month later. Arkansas, California, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, New York, West Virginia and Wisconsin have also already reached settlements with the LCD manufacturers.

Many LCD manufacturers have reached settlements with direct and indirect purchaser classes. Many consumers have already received checks from those LCD antitrust settlements.

“The agreed to terms of settlement are reasonable when evaluated against the range of likely outcomes and risks associated with further litigation,” Oregon’s motion for approval of the LCD price-fixing settlement says. “The Oregon Attorney General believes approval of the settlements is in the best interests of the State, its citizens, and its political subdivisions.”

If the settlement is approved, all Oregon natural persons who purchased an LCD product between Jan. 1, 2002 and Dec. 11, 2006 could be eligible for a cash payment.

In its motion seeking approval of the Oregon LCD settlement, Oregon indicates that it will issue notice of the settlement within 15 days of approval. More information will be posted on the Oregon Department of Justice website once it is available.

Oregon is represented by Senior Assistant General Tim D. Nord and Michael G. Neff, and Michael E. Haglund and Michael K. Kelley of Haglund Kelley LLP.

The LCD Price-Fixing Lawsuit is State of Oregon et rel. Ellen F. Rosenblum v. AU Optronics Corporation, et al., Cae No. 3:10-cv-04346, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The LCD Price-Fixing MDL is In re: TFT-LCD (Flat Panel) Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 3:07-md-01827, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

UPDATE: Claim filing instructions for the Oregon LCD price-fixing settlement are now available! Click here or visit www.OregonScreenSettlement.com for details.

UPDATE 2: On July 1, 2019, Top Class Actions viewers started to receive checks worth as much as $514.50 from the Oregon LCD flat panel screen class action settlement. Congratulations to everyone who filed a claim and got PAID.