Optical Disk Drive Settlement Reached for Direct Purchaser Class

The remaining electronics companies in the optical disk antitrust class action lawsuit have agreed to pay $37 million to settle with the direct purchaser Class. On Nov. 3, the direct purchasing plaintiffs asked the court for preliminary approval of the class action settlement, which they say is as fair or better than previous settlements in this case.

The optical disk drive antitrust class action lawsuit alleges that electronics manufacturers—such as Sony, LG, Samsung, Toshiba, and Phillips—conspired with each other from at least January of 2004 through January of 2010 to artificially increase the prices of optical disk drives, which are the devices used to read CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray disks that you find in computers, laptops, DVD players, and video game consoles.

The optical disk drive antitrust class action is split between the direct buyers and indirect buyers, and each Class has potential settlements pending court approval. According to the class action settlement documents, a direct purchaser is “a person or business who bought an Optical Disk Drive or an Optical Disk Drive Device directly from one or more of the Defendants, affiliates, or subsidiaries.”

The proposed settlement calls for the defendants to pay cash in the following amounts: $15 million from Phillips, $9.2 million from Toshiba/Samsung, $6 million from Sony, $4.2 million from Pioneer, $1.325 million from TEAC Corp., $875,000 from BenQ, and $400,000 from Quanta.

The Court previously approved settlements in the optical disk drive antitrust class action lawsuit with LG and Hitachi for $26 million, NEC Corp. for $6.15 million, and Panasonic for $5.75 million. Including the latest proposed settlement, this would bring the total cash award for direct purchasers of optical disk drives to just under $75 million.

If approved by the court, the direct purchaser Class will be sent notice of the settlement directly, if possible. Notice of the settlement will also be published in the Wall Street Journal and online. Potential claimants will have 60 days to file a claim. Because of the earlier settlements, over 10,000 claims have already been submitted. The direct purchaser class action settlement proposes to pay claims as fairly as possible, with each claim receiving a proportional percentage of the settlement.

More information about how to file a claim for the optical disk drive settlement was not immediately available. Keep checking TopClassActions.com or sign up for our free newsletter for the latest updates. You can also mark this article as a “Favorite” using your free Top Class Actions account to receive notifications when this article is updated.

The direct purchasers are represented by: Guido Saveri, R. Alexander Saveri, Cadio Zirpoli, and Travis L. Manfredi of Saveri & Saveri, Inc.; Jospeh W. Cotchett, Steven N. Williams, and Adam J. Zapala of Cotchett Pitre & McCarthy; Michael P. Lehmann and Christopher L. Lebsock of Hausfeld LLP; Robert N. Kaplan of Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer, LLP; Eric B. Fastiff and Brendan P. Glackin of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP; Bruce L. Simon and Aaron Sheanin of Pearson Simon Warshaw LLP; Joseph J. Tabacco Jr., Christopher T. Heffelfinger, and Todd A. Seaver of Berman DeValerio; and Jospeh M. Alioto and Theresa Moore of Alioto Law Firm.

The Optical Disk Drive Antitrust Class Action is In Re: Optical Disk Drive Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 3:10-md-02143 RS, MDL No. 2143, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

UPDATE July 25, 2016: A judge approved a $124.5 million settlement for indirect purchasers in 23 states and the District of Columbia. To file a claim, visit https://www.DollarsForDiskDrives.com/TCA.