Judge Approves $542M CRT Class Action Settlement

A $542 million settlement deal has been reached after customers claimed tech companies colluded to fix prices of cathode ray tubes.

The cathode ray tube settlement deal is worth $542 million, and was approved by U.S. District Judge Jon S. Tigar in California.

The settlement will benefit indirect buyers of the computer and television components, across 22 states. Six manufacturers, including Samsung, Toshiba, and Panasonic, are involved in the settlement.

The current settlement was reached in July thanks to mediation before Judge Tigar. Previously, the judge had approved multiple settlements over the alleged CRT price fixing, worth a cumulative $576.8 million. 

However, the settlement deal was appealed to the Ninth Circuit and then rejected by Judge Tigar who had concerns that possible conflicts of interest could be at play in the settlement.

He stated they should not be included in the settlement because they are barred from suing for damages under federal law, whereas purchasers in other states can sue for damages because their state laws allow it.

Though the previous settlement allocated $6 million to buyers in three states excluded from the Class, buyers in states that were omitted from the Class are now represented by separate class counsel. These states include Utah, Oregon, South Carolina, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Missouri, and Arkansas.

Judge Tigar determined the new settlement better represents and serves the interest of buyers in New Mexico, Nevada, South Dakota, and Hawaii, because it assigns them separate counsel.

The CRT class action claims began in November 2007 — both direct and indirect buyers filed multiple lawsuits against electronic manufacturers.

According to the buyers, the companies colluded to fix the prices of CRTs. Allegedly, this price-fixing occurred between 1995 and 2007, and caused customers to have to pay more for cathode ray tubes than they otherwise would have if the manufacturers had not engaged in price-fixing. 

The CRT class action lawsuits were consolidated into a multidistrict litigation in 2008, involving both direct and indirect purchasers.  

Do you buy products from Samsung, Toshiba or Panasonic? Let us know in the comments section below.

The Indirect Purchasers Class is represented by Mario Alioto, Joseph Patane and Lauren C. Capurro of Trump Alioto Trump & Prescott LLP.

The indirect purchasers excluded from the previous settlement are represented by John Crabtree and Brian Tackenberg of Crabtree & Auslander LLC, Robert Bonsignore of Bonsignore Trial Lawyers PLLC, Theresa D. Moore of the Law Offices of Theresa D. Moore, Christoper A. Nedeau of the Nedeau Law Firm, Francis O. Scarpulla and Patrick B. Clayton of the Law Offices of Francis O. Scarpulla, Michael Noonan, William Shaheen, Christine Craig and Lucy Karl of Shaheen & Gordon PA and Joseph Alioto of the Alioto Law Firm. 

The Cathode Ray Tube Price-Fixing Class Action Lawsuit is MDL No. 1917 In re: Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Antitrust Litigation, Case No. 3:07-cv-05944, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. 

Read More Lawsuit & Settlement News:

What’s the Problem with Valsartan?

Teva Whistleblower Lawsuit Results in $54M Settlement

Why is Ecolab Inc Producing Harmful Cleaning Products?

Rice Dream Class Action Says No Real Vanilla In Drink