CRT Direct Buyers’ Settlement With Thomson/Technicolor Gets Final OK

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On Dec. 17, the court approved a final settlement between the direct purchaser plaintiffs in a CRT antitrust class action lawsuit and defendants Thomson SA (now Technicolor SA), Thomson Consumer Electronics Inc. (now Technicolor USA Inc.), and Technologies Displays Americas LLC (formerly Thomson Displays Americas LLC) for $9.75 million.

Cathode ray tubes (CRTs, for short) were widely used in televisions and computer monitors before LCD, plasma, and LED display technologies increased in popularity. There are two main types of CRTs – color picture tubes used in televisions, and color display tubes used in computer monitors.

The CRT antitrust class action lawsuit claimed that the defendant electronic companies conspired with each other to fix the prices of CRTs during the period from March 1, 1995 to Nov. 25, 2007. That conspiracy allegedly drove up the prices of CRTs, causing consumers and businesses to overpay for products containing CRTs.

The direct purchaser plaintiffs are those who purchased an electronic item with a CRT in it, such as a television or computer monitor, directly from the defendant electronic manufacturers, and not from a retail store. A settlement with the indirect purchaser plaintiffs, which includes most consumers who purchased electronics from a store or wholesale website, was previously reported here.

In his order granting final approval of this settlement, U.S. District Court Judge Jon S. Tigar noted that only 16 plaintiffs opted out of the settlement. Those 16 plaintiffs are companies that have already filed their own lawsuits over the CRT antitrust conspiracy. No other party objected to the settlement, or appeared at the final settlement hearing.

Judge Tigar agreed that the settlement was appropriate, in part because the Thomson (Technicolor) companies are small, and recovering any money from them would be difficult. “Thomson has substantial debt” and “is a French company,” Judge Tigar noted, and Technologies Displays America “is another small company with few assets and significant debt.”

In addition to the $9.75 million payment, the Thomson (Technicolor) defendants have agreed to cooperate with the direct purchaser plaintiffs, and provide witnesses if the plaintiffs have to have a trial against the remaining defendants in the CRT antitrust class action lawsuit.

This $9.75 million settlement with the Thomson (Technicolor) defendants joins several other previous settlements. Other defendants in the CRT antitrust class action lawsuit who have already settled with the direct purchasers include: Samsung, Toshiba, LG Electronics, Philips, Panasonic, Hitachi, and Chunghwa. All together, the total recovery for the direct plaintiffs is now more than $136 million.

The settlement will pay direct purchasers a pro rata share of the money recovered based on the amount of electronics sold to each direct purchaser. According to the court’s order, “each settlement class member’s pro rata share will be that member’s total claim divided by the total number of valid claims, multiplied by value of the net settlement fund.”

The direct purchaser Class is represented by the law firm of Saveri & Saveri Inc., and several others.

The CRT Antitrust Class Action Lawsuit is In re: Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 1917, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.