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On Tuesday, Sony reached a $19 million settlement to end its role as defendant in the multidistrict litigation that accused the company and others of violating antitrust laws by allegedly fixing prices of lithium ion batteries.
In California federal court, Sony asked U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers to grant preliminary approval of the settlement and officially certify a nationwide Class.
Under the terms of the lithium ion batteries settlement, Sony Corp. will pay $19 million to direct purchasers, including the former electronics superstore Circuit City who bought the Sony batteries from January 2000 to May 2011.
The terms of the settlement also require Sony to cooperate in the lawsuit against the defendants that remain. Once approval is issued, Sony will be the first defendants to resolve claims in the multidistrict litigation that has been centralized in California federal court since 2014.
Because Sony has been the first to move toward requesting settlement approval, the court documents state that it may encourage other defendants to settle. “The Court also notes that this settlement has significant value as an ‘icebreaker’ settlement – it is the first settlement in the litigation – and should increase the likelihood of future settlements. An early settlement with one of the many defendants can ‘break the ice’ and bring other defendants to the point of serious negotiations,” according to the court document.
The allegations brought forth in the multidistrict litigation accused Sony of participating in a price-fixing conspiracy with Toshiba Corp., NEC Corp and LG Chem America, among other battery makers, that led to both direct purchasers and consumers paying higher prices for the goods. The rechargeable batteries are commonly used in laptop computers, other portable electronic devices and cordless power tools.
The plaintiffs alleged that “conspiracy has been carried out through agreements to fix prices and restrict output and has been facilitated in a variety of ways, including face-to-face meetings and other communications, customer allocation, and the use of trade associations.”
Following the lithium ion batteries MDL settlement approval, Sony plans to issue notice with Class Members and will specify the terms of allocation of the monies within a proposed timeline in preparation for receiving final approval of the settlement. Sony has also requested appointment of class counsel.
The motion for preliminary approval stated, “At this time, this Court is not being asked to determine whether the Settlement and the related plan of allocation are fair, reasonable, and adequate. Rather, the question is only whether it is sufficiently within the range of possible approval to justify sending and publishing notice to class members and to schedule a final approval hearing.”
The hearing for preliminary approval for the Sony settlement has been scheduled for March 22, 2016.
The direct purchaser plaintiffs are represented by Saveri & Saveri Inc., Pearson Simon & Warshaw LLP, Berman DeValerio, Zelle LLP, Barrack Rodos & Bacine, Grant & Eisenhofer PA and Polsinelli PC, among others.
The Lithium Ion Batteries Antitrust MDL is In re: Lithium-Ion Batteries Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 4:13-md-02420, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
UPDATE July 22, 2016: The settlement website is now available with an option to register to receive updates. See the TCA settlement article for details
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4 thoughts onSony to Pay $19M to Leave Lithium Battery Price-Fixing MDL
any word yet??
I was unable to enter the websde
I have a claim has this settlement been paid when will I receive my settlement
UPDATE July 22, 2016: The settlement website is now available with an option to register to receive updates. See the TCA settlement article for details or visit http://www.batteriesconsumerlitigation.com/