Electronic firms pay $338 million settlement

Sharp will pay the most in the settlement, $105 million. The other companies are Samsung ($82.6 million), LG Display ($75 million), Chimei ($78 million) and Hitatchi ($28 million), Sanyo ($3.5 million), Mitsui ($950,000) and HannStar ($14.9 million). The settlement regards a class action claiming companies conspired between 1996 and 2006 to fix LCD prices. According to Lieff Cabraser,the Court-appointed Co-Lead Class Counsel in the lawsuit, the combined amount makes up approximately 14% of the settling defendants’ total volume of commerce during the class period, a relatively high percentage compared to settlements in many other antitrust cases. As part of the settlement, each company must help plaintiffs in prosecuting non-settling defendants. The action went through the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California (San Francisco) and the settlement deal was reached on October 4. A final approval hearing is scheduled for Dec. 19.