Attorney general settles with foreign LCD makers

Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster yesterday settled with three foreign manufacturers, resolving allegations that the companies were price-fixing flat-panel LCD screens.

As part of the settlement agreement, Toshiba Corp., LG Display Co. Ltd. and AU Optronics Corp. - and several subsidiaries - agreed to pay $543.5 million in restitution to customers who purchased LCD monitors, notebook computers and LCD televisions between Jan. 1, 1999, and Dec. 31, 2006, according to a news release.

“These settlements should make it clear that price-fixing will not be tolerated in Missouri,” Koster said in the release. “My office will continue to investigate and prosecute any anticompetitive actions – whether they originate in Missouri or across an ocean in Taiwan – that harm our state’s consumers.”

The latest settlements end litigation with the remaining defendants sued by Koster in August 2010. Koster's office, along with seven other state attorneys general and the federal government, had been investigating the industry and found companies were holding closed-door meetings in which they agreed to raise prices for LCD screens.

Companies that previously settled, according to the release, were:

• Chimei Innolux Corp.;
• Chi Mei Optoelectronics USA Inc.;
• Chi Mei Optoelectronics Japan Co. Ltd;
• Chunghwa Picture Tubes Inc.;
• Epson Imaging Devices Corp.;
• HannStar Display Corp.;
• Hitachi Ltd.;
• Hitachi Displays Ltd.;
• Hitachi Electronic Devices USA Inc.;
• Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.;
• Samsung Electronics America Inc.;
• Samsung Semiconductor Inc.;
• Sharp Corp.; and
• Sharp Electronics Corp.

Missouri residents and businesses who would like to file a claim can find information at LCDClass.com.