Another Circuit Board Price-Fixing Class Action Lawsuit Filed

An Illinois business has filed a circuit board price-fixing class action lawsuit alleging that the makers of the largest number of two types of electronic components have colluded for at least nine years to keep prices artificially high in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

Schuten Electronics, the plaintiff, alleges that a number of multinational corporations began organizing their prices for aluminum and tantalum electrolytic capacitors in 2005. They did so “from at least as early as 2005,” in response to decreasing demand for these electrical storage parts in favor of smaller ceramic ones.

The company’s class action lawyers argue that a result of the price-fixing conspiracy, the price per 1,000 tantalum parts increased $23.75 to $106.18 and were able to mostly limit the decline in pricing of aluminum capacitors, making up 75 percent of the loss.

In order to accomplish the alleged Sherman Antitrust Act violation, the class action lawsuit notes that because only a few companies dominate the two markets, including Sanyo and Panasonic, it is easier to reduce price elasticity in spite of changes in demand, and internal industry publications helped firms keep track of the alleged monopoly.

A further argument cites the criminal investigations launched into in a number of countries, including by Chinese authorities and the Department of Justice in the U.S. The complaint cites unnamed sources in stating, “[T]he Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice (‘DOJ’) confirmed in April 2014 that the government has opened an investigation into price fixing in the capacitors industry. Some sources have suggested that these investigations began in part because Defendant Panasonic approached U.S. and Chinese authorities to report its involvement in the conspiracy and seek amnesty.”

The plaintiffs allege that because there are significant benefits to working with the Department of Justice, and that to do so a company must admit wrongdoing, there is substantial evidence to support the idea of a monopoly.

The class action lawsuit is just one of many complaints filed against at least one of the companies regarding capacitor price fixing. At least one cites the same criminal investigations, and all cite the combined power of the reported collusion.

The plaintiffs are represented by class action lawyers Kit A. Pierson, Brent W. Johnson, Laura Alexander, George Farah, Matthew Ruan and Manual John Dominguez of Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC.

The Circuit Board Price-Fixing Class Action Lawsuit is Schuten Electronics Inc., et al. v. AVX Corp., et al., Case No. 14-cv-03698, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.