LG Display to pay $380M to settle LCD price-fixing lawsuit
Combined with a previous settlement, new resolution with two other LCD makers will bring the total recovery to more than $1 billion.
LG Display agreed to pay $380 million to settle a lawsuit accusing it of conspiring to fix prices in the liquid crystal display market, the largest sum among its fellow defendants in the case.
Collectively, three companies agreed to pay $571 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that alleged LCD manufacturers colluded to drive up the price of screens used in televisions, laptops, and other electronics, according to a Reuters report. AU Optronics and Toshiba agreed to pay $170 million and $21 million, respectively, according to a plaintiffs' attorney.
A separate case involving seven other companies, including Samsung, Sharp, and Hitachi, resulted in a settlement last year of $535 million. The trio in the most recent resolution did not participate in last year's settlement. When approved, the most recent settlement will bring the combined recovery to more than $1 billion.
The original complaints alleged that the companies were working together with one another to create an international cartel to set and control pricing of LCD panels. A little more than a year ago, many of the same manufacturers were targeted by the European Union and fined $856 million. Like the direct buyer settlement, that investigation took aim at LCD panels made between October 2001 and February 2006.
A previous settlement aimed at so-called "direct" buyers who were the victims of price-fixing on products like TVs and PCs with LCD panels between 2001 and 2006. That particular suit resulted in a settlement of $388 million, split between the various companies involved.