lcd panel price fixing for sale

(Reuters) - Samsung Electronics Co, Sharp Corp and five other makers of liquid crystal displays agreed to pay more than $553 million to settle consumer and state regulatory claims that they conspired to fix prices for LCD panels in televisions, notebook computers and monitors.A worker prepares a display of Sharp flat panel televisions for the 2009 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, January 7, 2009. REUTERS/Steve Marcus

The settlement is the latest arising from lawsuits alleging the creation of an international cartel designed to illegally inflate prices and stifle competition in LCD panels between 1999 and 2006, affecting billions of dollars of U.S. commerce.

In December 2006, authorities in Japan, Korea, the European Union and the United States revealed a probe into alleged anti-competitive activity among LCD panel manufacturers. Many companies and executives have since pleaded guilty to criminal antitrust violations and paid more than $890 million in fines.

The latest payout includes $538.6 million to resolve claims by “indirect” purchasers that bought televisions and computers with thin film transistor LCDs, as well as claims by eight states: Arkansas, California, Florida, Michigan, Missouri, New York, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

“This price-fixing scheme manipulated the playing field for businesses that abide by the rules, and left consumers to pay artificially higher costs for televisions, computers and other electronics,” Schneiderman said in a statement on Tuesday.

Other defendants have yet to settle, including Taiwan-based AU Optronics Corp, one of the largest LCD panel manufacturers; South Korea’s LG Display Co and Toshiba Corp.

The accord follows a settlement this month by eight companies, including Samsung and Sharp, to pay $388 million to settle litigation by direct purchasers of the LCD panels.

WASHINGTON — Executives from LG Display Co. Ltd. and Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd. have agreed to plead guilty and serve jail time in the United States for participating in a global conspiracy to fix prices in the sale of Thin Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display (TFT-LCD) panels, the U.S. Department of Justice announced today.

According to a one-count felony charge filed today in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Chang Suk "C.S." Chung, a Korean LG executive, conspired with unnamed employees from other panel makers to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing the prices of TFT-LCD panels from on or about Sept. 21, 2001, to on or about June 1, 2006. According to a separate one-count felony charge, also filed today in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Chieng-Hon "Frank" Lin, a Taiwanese former executive from Chunghwa, and Chih-Chun "C.C." Liu and Hsueh-Lung "Brian" Lee, Taiwanese current employees of Chungwha, are charged with participating in the same conspiracy at various times during the period from Sept. 14, 2001, to on or about Dec. 1, 2006.

Under the plea agreements, which must be approved by the court, all four executives have agreed to serve a term of imprisonment, pay a criminal fine and assist the government in its ongoing TFT-LCD investigation.

TFT-LCD panels are used in computer monitors and notebooks, televisions, mobile phones, and other electronic devices. In 2006, the worldwide market for TFT-LCD panels was approximately $70 billion.

Chih-Chun Liu, a Taiwanese citizen, was Chunghwa’s Vice President of LCD Sales during the charged conspiracy period. Under the plea agreement, Liu has agreed to serve a seven-month prison sentence in the United States and pay a $30,000 criminal fine.

Hsueh-Lung Lee, a Taiwanese citizen, held various sales positions at Chunghwa during the charged conspiracy period, including Vice President of LCD Sales. Under the plea agreement, Lee has agreed to serve a six-month prison sentence in the United States and pay a $20,000 criminal fine.

These four foreign-based executives were charged with participating with co-conspirators in a conspiracy that was accomplished by: Participating in meetings, conversations and communications in Taiwan, South Korea and the United States to discuss the prices of TFT-LCD panels;

"These are the first individuals to plead guilty to a charge of fixing prices in this active investigation into antitrust violations in the TFT-LCD industry," said Scott D. Hammond, the Antitrust Division’s Deputy Assistant Attorney General for Criminal Enforcement. "We will continue in our efforts to bring to justice other domestic and foreign-based executives who were involved with fixing TFT-LCD prices."

On Dec. 16, 2008, Sharp Corp. pleaded guilty to three separate conspiracies to fix the prices of TFT-LCD panels sold to Dell Inc., Apple Computer Inc. and Motorola Inc., and was sentenced to pay a $120 million criminal fine.

The four executives are charged with price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act, which carries a maximum fine of $1 million and up to 10 years in prison for an individual. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.

Anyone with information concerning illegal conduct in the TFT-LCD industry is urged to call the San Francisco Field Office of the Antitrust Division at 415-436-6660.

WASHINGTON – A Thin-Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display (TFT-LCD) producer and seller has agreed to plead guilty and pay $220 million in criminal fines for its role in a conspiracy to fix prices in the sale of liquid crystal display panels, the Department of Justice announced today.

According to a one-count felony charge filed today in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Chi Mei Optoelectronics participated in a conspiracy to fix the prices of TFT-LCD panels sold worldwide from Sept. 14, 2001, to Dec. 1, 2006. According to the plea agreement, which is subject to court approval, Chi Mei has agreed to cooperate with the department’s ongoing antitrust investigation.

TFT-LCD panels are used in computer monitors and notebooks, televisions, mobile phones and other electronic devices. By the end of the conspiracy period, the worldwide market for TFT-LCD panels was valued at $70 billion. Companies directly affected by the LCD price-fixing conspiracy are some of the largest computer and television manufacturers in the world, including Apple, Dell and HP.

According to the charge, Chi Mei carried out the conspiracy by agreeing during meetings, conversations and communications to charge prices of TFT-LCD panels at certain pre-determined levels and issuing price quotations in accordance with the agreements reached. As a part of the conspiracy, Chi Mei exchanged information on sales of TFT-LCD panels for the purpose of monitoring and enforcing adherence to the agreed-upon prices.

Chi Mei, which is based in Tainan, Taiwan, is charged with price fixing in violation of the Sherman Act. Each violation carries a maximum fine of $100 million for corporations. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.

Anyone with information concerning illegal conduct in the TFT-LCD industry is urged to call the Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Field Office at 415-436-6660.

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The companies are accused of colluding to artificially inflate the prices of LFT LCD panel prices for seven years, starting in 1999. This is just the latest sanction in an ongoing series of lawsuits and probes that have brought against the cartel by consumers, state and federal governments, and international organizations since 2006. Of this settlement amount, $501 million will be used to issue partial refunds to consumers in 24 states who purchased products that used the offending panels between 1999 and 2006. The companies are also paying $37 million to government and other public agencies that purchased the panels.

“This price-fixing scheme manipulated the playing field for businesses that abide by the rules, and left consumers to pay artificially higher costs for televisions, computers and other electronics,” New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said in a statement.

So far, the companies and executives have racked up more than $890 million in fines, according to Reuters. In 2008, LG Display, Sharp and Chunghwa Picture Tubes plead guilty to criminal charges for the price fixing conspiracy and agreed to pay $585 million in fines. According to the Justice Department, the companies held meetings at which they agreed on a fixed price for the panels and exchanged sales information in order to keep the agreement in check.

According to Bloomberg, which obtained court papers filed yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco, Sharp and Samsung paid $105 million and $82.7 million, respectively, for their alleged involvement in driving up prices for LCDs sold between 1999 and 2006. Chimei Innolux paid $78 million as part of the class action lawsuit"s settlement.

"They colluded on minimum prices of panels, pricing policies on each product type, timing of price increases, and a ban on cash rebates," the country"s Fair Trade Commission said at the time. "They were aware that such action was illegal, and kept their gatherings and information secret."

The alleged price fixing impacted several markets and a host of companies, including Dell, Motorola, and Apple. In 2009, AT&T and Nokia sued Samsung, LG Display, and other panel makers, alleging that the companies artificially inflated prices on LCD panels. Dell followed with a lawsuit of its own last year, taking aim at Sharp, Hitachi, Toshiba, and others, accusing the firms of collusion on LCD panel pricing.

The TFT-LCD (Flat Panel) Antitrust Litigationclass-action lawsuit regarding the worldwide conspiracy to coordinate the prices of Thin-Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display (TFT-LCD) panels, which are used to make laptop computers, computer monitors and televisions, between 1999 and 2006. In March 2010, Judge Susan Illston certified two nationwide classes of persons and entities that directly and indirectly purchased TFT-LCDs – for panel purchasers and purchasers of TFT-LCD integrated products; the litigation was followed by multiple suits.

TFT-LCDs are used in flat-panel televisions, laptop and computer monitors, mobile phones, personal digital assistants, semiconductors and other devices;

In mid-2006, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division requested FBI assistance in investigating LCD price-fixing. In December 2006, authorities in Japan, Korea, the European Union and the United States revealed a probe into alleged anti-competitive activity among LCD panel manufacturers.

The companies involved, which later became the Defendants, were Taiwanese companies AU Optronics (AUO), Chi Mei, Chunghwa Picture Tubes (Chunghwa), and HannStar; Korean companies LG Display and Samsung; and Japanese companies Hitachi, Sharp and Toshiba.cartel which took place between January 1, 1999, through December 31, 2006, and which was designed to illegally reduce competition and thus inflate prices for LCD panels. The companies exchanged information on future production planning, capacity use, pricing and other commercial conditions.European Commission concluded that the companies were aware they were violating competition rules, and took steps to conceal the venue and results of the meetings; a document by the conspirators requested everybody involved "to take care of security/confidentiality matters and to limit written communication".

This price-fixing scheme manipulated the playing field for businesses that abide by the rules, and left consumers to pay artificially higher costs for televisions, computers and other electronics.

Companies directly affected by the LCD price-fixing conspiracy, as direct victims of the cartel, were some of the largest computer, television and cellular telephone manufacturers in the world. These direct action plaintiffs included AT&T Mobility, Best Buy,Costco Wholesale Corporation, Good Guys, Kmart Corp, Motorola Mobility, Newegg, Sears, and Target Corp.Clayton Act (15 U.S.C. § 26) to prevent Defendants from violating Section 1 of the Sherman Act (15 U.S.C. § 1), as well as (b) 23 separate state-wide classes based on each state"s antitrust/consumer protection class action law.

In November 2008, LG, Chunghwa, Hitachi, Epson, and Chi Mei pleaded guilty to criminal charges of fixing prices of TFT-LCD panels sold in the U.S. and agreed to pay criminal fines (see chart).

The South Korea Fair Trade Commission launched legal proceedings as well. It concluded that the companies involved met more than once a month and more than 200 times from September 2001 to December 2006, and imposed fines on the LCD manufacturers.

Sharp Corp. pleaded guilty to three separate conspiracies to fix the prices of TFT-LCD panels sold to Dell Inc., Apple Computer Inc. and Motorola Inc., and was sentenced to pay a $120 million criminal fine,

Seven executives from Japanese and South Korean LCD companies were indicted in the U.S. Four were charged with participating as co-conspirators in the conspiracy and sentenced to prison terms – including LG"s Vice President of Monitor Sales, Chunghwa"s chairman, its chief executive officer, and its Vice President of LCD Sales – for "participating in meetings, conversations and communications in Taiwan, South Korea and the United States to discuss the prices of TFT-LCD panels; agreeing during these meetings, conversations and communications to charge prices of TFT-LCD panels at certain predetermined levels; issuing price quotations in accordance with the agreements reached; exchanging information on sales of TFT-LCD panels for the purpose of monitoring and enforcing adherence to the agreed-upon prices; and authorizing, ordering and consenting to the participation of subordinate employees in the conspiracy."

On December 8, 2010, the European Commission announced it had fined six of the LCD companies involved in a total of €648 million (Samsung Electronics received full immunity under the commission"s 2002 Leniency Notice) – LG Display, AU Optronics, Chimei, Chunghwa Picture and HannStar Display Corporation.

On July 3, 2012, a U.S. federal jury ruled that the remaining defendant, Toshiba Corporation, which denied any wrongdoing, participated in the conspiracy to fix prices of TFT-LCDs and returned a verdict in favor of the plaintiff class. Following the trial, Toshiba agreed to resolve the case by paying the class $30 million.

First, the court explained that claims relating to LCD panels sold to foreign subsidiaries, which were never shipped back into the US, were clearly barred by the FTAIA and a frivolous element of Motorola"s claim. Next, the court reasoned that the sales of LCD panels to foreign subsidiaries that were then incorporated into phones and sent to the US for sale were also barred. The court held that Motorola did not show that the defendants" LCD panel price-fixing had a direct, substantial and reasonably foreseeable effect on US commerce.

Focusing on the lack of direct effect on US commerce, Judge Posner held that a price-fixed object sold abroad and used only as a component of a product later sold in the US has only an indirect effect on the ultimate product price. It did not matter that Motorola determined the price its subsidiaries paid the defendants for the panels. Instead, the court focused on where the product was sold directly. Because the product was not sold directly to US customers but instead circulated through various foreign outlets before entering the US stream of commerce as part of a finished product, the effect of the fixed-price in the US was indirect.

Second, the court held that Motorola failed to establish that the defendants" foreign price-fixing gave rise to an antitrust claim (allegedly, higher prices on US cellphones) because Motorola:

The court noted that if the defendants conspired to sell LCD panels directly to Motorola in the US, they would be subject to antitrust enforcement under the Sherman Act because of the FTAIA"s exception for imported goods. The court noted that the 1% of LCD panels sold directly to Motorola in the US, which were not subject to the appeal, would fall under that exception.

A South Korean executive with LG Display has agreed to plead guilty and serve a year in prison for participating in a global conspiracy to fix the prices of TFT-LCD (thin-film transistor liquid crystal display) panels, the U.S. Department of Justice announced.

Bock Kwon, who served in several executive roles at LG Display, conspired with employees from other TFT-LCD panel makers to fix prices between September 2001 and June 2006, the DOJ said. In agreeing Monday to plead guilty to a one-count felony price-fixing charge, Kwon faces up to a year in prison and a US$30,000 fine. A judge in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California must still approve the plea agreement.

TFT-LCD panels are used in computer monitors and notebooks, televisions, mobile phones and other electronic devices. In 2006, the worldwide market for TFT-LCD panels was approximately $70 billion, the DOJ said.

"The participants in the LCD conspiracy committed a serious fraud upon American consumers by fixing the prices of a product that is in almost every American home," Christine Varney, assistant attorney general in charge of the DOJ"s Antitrust Division, said in a statement. "The charges against top-level executives who participated in the LCD conspiracy show the commitment of the Department of Justice to finding and prosecuting those at the highest levels, no matter where they live or where these crimes against American consumers were committed."

Including Monday"s charge, four companies and nine individuals have been charged in the DOJ"s ongoing antitrust investigation into the TFT-LCD industry. More than $616 million in criminal fines have been imposed, and four people have pleaded guilty and have been sentenced to serve jail time.

In December, LG Display pleaded guilty to participating in a worldwide conspiracy to fix the price of TFT-LCD panels and was sentenced to pay a $400 million criminal fine, the second-largest fine in DOJ Antitrust Division history. Between December and March, Sharp, Chunghwa Picture Tubes and Hitachi Displays also pleaded guilty to price-fixing charges, and agreed to pay fines ranging from $31 million to $120 million.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Eight state attorneys general announced a $538 million settlement with electronics makers Tuesday over allegations of price-fixing in LCD panels.

The companies are accused of colluding to fix prices for thin film transistor LCD panels, which are used in a variety of consumer products including computer screens and flat-panel televisions.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Three major electronics manufacturers have agreed to plead guilty to a price-fixing conspiracy and pay $585 million in criminal fines for their roles in the pricing of LCD display panels, the Justice Department said Wednesday.

"These price-fixing conspiracies affected millions of American consumers who use computers, cell phones and numerous other household electronics every day," said Barnett. He declined to estimate losses stemming from the price fixing, but said he expected to provide some measure of the damages when the corporations are sentenced.

The Justice Department said LG Display Company, previously LG Philips, will pay by far the largest fine - $400 million, the second highest criminal fine ever imposed for price-fixing. The firm agreed to plead guilty to participating in a conspiracy from 2001 to 2006 to set the price of LCD panels worldwide.

Sharp agreed to pay a $120 million fine for three separate conspiracies with unnamed partners who sold LCD panels with artificially inflated prices to Dell (DELL, Fortune 500) for computer monitors and laptops, Motorola (MOT, Fortune 500) for panels in Razr mobile phones and Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) for panels used in iPod portable music players.

The money will go to US consumers and state governments. The alleged price fixing would have increased the prices of devices using LCD displays such as televisions and laptop computers.

https://content.next.westlaw.com/practical-law/document/Ica7a8799e84d11e398db8b09b4f043e0/Appeal-against-Commission-LCD-cartel-decision?viewType=FullText&transitionType=Default&contextData=(sc.Default)

On 9 April 2011, details were published in the Official Journal of an appeal against the decision of the European Commission in relation to a cartel in the LCD market.

Consumer electronics and technology giant Toshiba has been fined $87 million by the US District Court in San Francisco for collaborating with other liquid crystal display (LCD) screen manufacturers to keep prices of the panels artificially high. LCD panels are used in a wide variety of devices, including televisions, computers and mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Despite the verdict, the company said it might not have to pay the fine.

“Toshiba has consistently maintained that there was no illegal activity on its part in the LCD business in the United States, and Toshiba continues to hold that view. While Toshiba appreciates the jury’s time and effort, Toshiba believes that the jury’s verdict is in error as to the finding of wrongdoing,” Toshbia said in a prepared statement reported by the AFP newswire. “Given credits for settlements by other defendants, Toshiba expects that it will not have to pay any damages as a result of this verdict, even after trebling under US antitrust laws.”

The civil class action lawsuit, TFT-LCD (Flat Panel) Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 1827, was filed in 2007 by purchasers of LCD panels installed in a variety of devices. €œRival LCD makers met in secret in karaoke bars, tea rooms, and hotel conference rooms in Taiwan to set prices rather than letting market forces prevail, according to US officials,€ the AFP report said. Taiwanese electronics company AU Optronics, which settled in April, and several other major LCD panel manufacturers had previously decided to settle, among them Samsung Electronics, Sharp and LG Electronics.

By Melissa Lipman (November 21, 2013, 7:12 PM EST) -- A California federal judge ruled Wednesday that Best Buy Co. couldn"t collect on a $22 million verdict against HannStar Display Corp. because of its earlier price-fixing settlements in the liquid crystal display multidistrict litigation, but left the door open for the retailer to pursue $18 million in fees and costs....