lcd panel price fixing manufacturer

(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.

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.

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.

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.

Hewlett-Packard has filed a complaint against display manufacturers Chunghwa Picture Tubes and Tatung Company of America, seeking to recover damages it claims it suffered as a result of their involvement in a price fixing scheme.

In November 2008, Chungwha pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy together with other display manufacturers, including LG Display and Sharp, to set the prices of Thin-Film Transistor-Liquid Crystal Display (TFT-LCD) panels to predetermined levels. The company agreed to pay a US$65 million criminal fine at the time.

"HP has filed suit against Chungwha Picture Tubes, Ltd. and its subsidiary Tatung Company of America, Inc., in a California court to recover damages the company suffered as a result of the defendant"s admitted participation in a TFT-LCD price fixing scheme from 1996-2006," HP"s vice president of corporate communications, Howard Clabo, said Tuesday via email.

OLYMPIA — Beginning next week, checks will be in the mail for consumers affected by an elaborate price-fixing conspiracy by LCD manufacturers, Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced today. A total of $41.1 million is on its way to 24,632 consumers and businesses in all 39 counties.

For eight years, consumers in Washington and throughout the world were significantly overcharged every time they bought a product with a liquid crystal display, or LCD, screen because of a conspiracy by the world’s largest LCD manufacturers.

According to the AG’s complaint filed in 2010, LCD manufacturers participated in cartel meetings in which they exchanged price information and agreed to fix prices and manipulate the supply of LCD panels to artificially increase prices.

The earliest meeting occurred over a round of golf in Taiwan in 1998, where the LCD manufacturers met to discuss concerns over increased competition in the industry.

This led to regular gatherings, known as “crystal meetings,” where the LCD manufacturers met to fix the prices on LCD panel prices by exchanging confidential price and shipment information.

In May 2015, AG Ferguson recovered $63 million from the nine LCD manufacturers who participated in the price-fixing scheme. A total of $41.1 million will be returned to consumers, another $6 million will go to state agencies affected by the scheme, and the remainder will cover the costs of the case and fund antitrust efforts in Washington.

Checks will be mailed out within the next week, and should arrive with claimants in the next few weeks. People with questions about their claims should contact AB Data at 866-778-9468 or walcdsettlement@abdata.com.

Without the price-fixing scheme, liquid-crystal panels would have been even cheaper, and they are key parts in a wide range of products. For example, the screen represents 10 percent to 20 percent of the total cost of a notebook PC, said Rob Enderle, an independent analyst in San Jose, California.

The effect was somewhat higher prices. "These price-fixing conspiracies affected millions of American consumers who use computers, cellphones, and numerous other household electronics every day," Barnett said in a statement.

During the Bush administration, antitrust enforcement has been selective and often guided by a hands-off, pro-business philosophy, legal experts say. But price-fixing cartels are an area of antitrust in which there is no debate about enforcement. In a 2004 Supreme Court decision, which was unanimous, cartels were called "the supreme evil of antitrust."

NEW YORK– Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced a $571 million multi-state settlement with three major technology corporations charged with illegally conspiring to boost prices for liquid crystal display (LCD) screens used in televisions, computer monitors, and laptops. As part of the agreement reached with AU Optronics Corporation, LG Display Co., Ltd., Toshiba Corporation, and affiliated entities of each corporation, New York State taxpayers are expected to receive upwards of $10 million through recovery for government purchases and penalties, in addition to restitution to compensate consumers affected by the scheme.

“This price-fixing scheme created an unlevel playing field for businesses that abide by the rules, and left consumers paying artificially higher costs for televisions, computers and other electronics,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “Protecting the integrity of the marketplace is the only way to ensure the best outcome for New York’s consumers. That is why my office will aggressively police anti-competitive practices and hold accountable corporations that violate the law.”

New York"s complaint alleged that from 1999 to 2006 Japanese, Korean, and Taiwanese manufacturers of thin film transistor ("TFT") LCD panels, together with their U.S. affiliates, engineered a conspiracy to fix prices of TFT-LCD panels, and sold into New York millions of TFT-LCD panels at prices fixed by the cartel. TFT-LCD screens are essential components of televisions, computer monitors, and laptop screens. Substantially all TFT-LCD products sold in New York during the conspiracy period were sold at high prices illegally fixed by the conspiracy.

Following court approval of the settlements, at least $692 million will be available for partial refunds to compensate consumers residing in New York and 23 other States and the District of Columbia who purchased products containing TFT-LCD panels during the period beginning January 1, 1999 and continuing through December 31, 2006. Information on how consumers can claim partial refunds, once the Court has approved the settlements, as well as other information about the settlements and the court approval process, is available at www . lcdclass . com

In addition to the consumer recoveries, defendants in the case will pay $8 million in penalties to New York State"s treasury. New York State and other New York public entities that purchased the price-fixed products will receive at least $8 million in partial refunds. Other States and public entities will receive an additional $34 million in penalties, and an additional $24 million in partial refunds.

These settlements conclude Attorney General Schneiderman"s lawsuit against alleged LCD cartel participants. Attorney General Schneiderman expressed his gratitude to the New York State Office of General Services, New York"s public procurement agency, for its important assistance in the case.

NEW YORK, NY (August 6, 2010) - Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today filed an antitrust action against several major technology companies for illegally fixing prices for liquid crystal display (“LCD”) screens used in computers, televisions, and cell phones.

The lawsuit seeks to recover damages suffered from 1996 to 2006 by New York State and other public purchasers - local governments, schools, hospitals, and colleges, among others - that purchased computers and other goods containing the price-fixed screens. The suit seeks damages, restitution, and civil penalties.

The lawsuit, filed in State Supreme Court in New York County, alleges that companies in Japan, Korea, and Taiwan, and their U.S. counterparts, engineered a cartel that dominated the $70 billion market for LCD screens for approximately a decade. The cartel ensured that LCD prices were set not by competition, but by detailed and explicit secret agreements among the competitors. New York State purchasers paid artificially higher prices for products containing LCD panels as a result of the illegal conspiracy.

“Our investigation shows that an illegal cartel eliminated competition in the marketplace for LCD screens, made its own secret decisions to boost prices, and then took steps to make those high prices stick,” said Attorney General Cuomo. “As a result, hard-pressed New York cities, towns, schools, and hospitals spent hundreds of millions of dollars on LCD screens affected by the illegal conspiracy. My office is bringing this case to get those illegal overcharges back.”

Specifically, the lawsuit cites evidence that:Top-level executives, including CEOs, attended secret meetings on a regular monthly or quarterly basis to agree on minimum prices, price targets and increases, and prices to be charged to specific computer manufacturers;

In order to cover up the conspiracy, companies coordinated their messages to their customers and manipulated media announcements in order to give the false impression that their agreed upon price hikes were due to supply and demand conditions; and

Because of the cartel, conspirators were able to avoid competition and keep LCD prices artificially high to the detriment of computer manufacturers and consumers.

CMO, in a brief statement released Thursday, said it reached the plea agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, which has been investigating allegations of anticompetitive pricing activities among many of the world"s largest manufacturers of thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels.

CMO said it would pay the $220 million fine in installments over five years and has agreed to cooperate with the Justice Department"s ongoing antitrust investigation. The company said the price-fixing applied to TFT-LCD panels manufactured between September 2001 and December 2006.

The Justice department has charged the LCD manufacturers with conspiring to charge pre-determined prices for the products. Other LCD manufacturers that have already pleaded guilty in the case include Epson Imaging Devices Corp. and Hitachi Displays, while Chungwa Picture Tubes Ltd., LG Display and Sharp Corp. have reached plea agreements with the Justice Department similar to the CMO deal.

The worldwide market for TFT-LCD panels at the end of the period in which the price-fixing conspiracy occurred was $70 billion, according to a statement issued by the Justice Department late Wednesday. The Justice Department said Apple, Dell and Hewlett-Packard, among the world"s largest manufacturers of devices that incorporate LCD panels, were most directly affected by the price fixing. Mobile phone maker Nokia and AT&T have sued many of the same LCD makers for damages for the alleged price fixing.

Analysis performed by OnPoint expert Dr. Gareth Macartney helped secure a favorable settlement for Eastman Kodak in its dispute with LCD panel manufacturers Epson, AU Optronics and Toshiba. The settlement resolved a dispute centered on allegations that the Defendants participated in an international price-fixing conspiracy involving thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panels. The antitrust lawsuit was part of a multidistrict litigation against the world’s leading TFT-LCD manufacturers in Taiwan, Korea and Japan. To date, the consolidated TFT-LCD price-fixing litigation has produced at least $1.39 billion in settlement deals and has led to guilty pleas and criminal charges against companies and individuals connected to the alleged price-fixing scheme.

TFT-LCD panels are used in flat-panel televisions, computer monitors, laptop computers, digital cameras, camera phones and other devices. At the time of the conspiracy, Kodak was among the top three digital camera brands in the US, and it purchased digital cameras manufactured by Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in Asia. Those cameras contained TFT-LCD panels that the OEMs purchased from panel manufacturers, such as the Defendants. Kodak suffered increased camera costs to the extent that the OEMs passed through TFT-LCD panel prices elevated by the conspiracy.

Dr. Macartney submitted an initial expert report and provided expert testimony on behalf of Plaintiff Kodak, investigating the economic injury suffered by Kodak as a result of Defendants’ price-fixing conspiracy. Dr. Macartney’s analysis demonstrated that the price-fixing conspiracy increased the price of TFT-LCD panels of all sizes to supra-competitive levels, and that the OEMs passed through a substantial portion of the price increase to Kodak in the form of higher prices for digital cameras. Further, Dr. Macartney quantified the damages Kodak suffered due to its inability to pass-through the full extent of the increased costs to its retailer customers.

Facts. The Commission considered that between October 2001 and February 2006, the manufacturers had fixed prices and exchanged information on price ranges and minimum prices, future production planning, capacity utilisation and other commercial conditions. The Commission considered that the alleged activities had had a direct impact on customers in the EEA, as the vast majority of televisions, computer monitors and notebooks incorporating LCD panels and sold in the EEA come from Asia.

The Commission has decided that six manufacturers of LCD panels operated an illegal cartel, in breach of Article 101 of the TFEU. The cartel operated from October 2001 to February 2006 (a four month shorter period than that alleged in the statement of objections). During this time the companies agreed prices (including price ranges and minimum prices) and exchanged information on future production planning, capacity utilisation pricing and other commercial conditions.

The Commission concluded that the cartel activities had a direct impact on customers in the EEA as the vast majority of televisions, computer monitors and notebooks incorporating LCD panels and sold in the EEA come from Asia.

Update: Just dawned on us that this lawsuit (which we now know claims an 11 company cartel operating from "at least" January 1, 1996 until Dec 11, 2006) joins the AT&T action kicked off in October. Pile on! Nokia has also filed suit in the UK against both LCD and CRT makers.

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Three electronics manufacturers -- LG Display, Sharp and Chunghwa Picture Tubes -- have agreed to plead guilty and pay a combined US$585 million in criminal fines for conspiring to fix the prices of liquid crystal display (LCD) panels, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday.

The DOJ filed the price-fixing charges in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in San Francisco Wednesday. The companies, in agreeing to settle the charges, also agreed to cooperate with the DOJ"s ongoing antitrust investigation.

Thin-Film Transistor LCD panels are used in computer monitors and laptops, television sets, mobile phones, and other electronic devices. In 2006, the worldwide market for TFT-LCD panels was approximately $70 billion, the DOJ said.

Companies directly affected by the LCD price-fixing conspiracies are some of the largest computer, television and cellular telephone manufacturers in the world, including Apple, Dell and Motorola, the DOJ said in a press release.

LG Display, a South Korean corporation, and its subsidiary, LG Display America, agreed to plead guilty to participating in a conspiracy from September 2001 to June 2006 to fix the price of TFT-LCD panels sold worldwide.

Sharp, a Japanese consumer electronics manufacturer, agreed to pay a $120 million fine for its participation in separate conspiracies to fix the prices of TFT-LCD panels sold to Dell from April 2001 to December 2006 for use in computer monitors and laptops; to Motorola from fall 2005 to the middle of 2006 for use in Razr mobile phones; and to Apple from September 2005 to December 2006 for use in iPod portable music players.

Chunghwa, a Taiwanese TFT-LCD panel manufacturer, has agreed to pay a $65 million fine for its participation with LG and other unnamed co-conspirators in a conspiracy from September 2001 to December 2006 to fix the prices of TFT-LCD panels sold worldwide.

"These price-fixing conspiracies affected millions of American consumers who use computers, cell phones and numerous other household electronics every day," Thomas Barnett, assistant attorney general in charge of the DOJ"s Antitrust Division, said in a statement. "These convictions, and the significant fines they carry, should send a clear message that the Antitrust Division will vigorously investigate and prosecute illegal cartels, regardless of where they are located."

All three companies were charged with carrying out the conspiracy by participating in multiple meetings to discuss TFT-LCD panel prices and by agreeing to charge set prices.

LG, Sharp and Chunghwa were each charged with price fixing in violation of the U.S. Sherman Act. Each violation normally carries a maximum fine of $100 million for corporations, but the fines can be increased to double the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims.

LG Display, based in Seoul, South Korea, reported $15.3 billion in revenue for 2007. Sharp, based in Osaka, Japan, reported $34.2 billion in revenue for its fiscal year ending March 31, including $6.8 billion in revenue from LCD sales.

TFT-LCDs are used in flat-panel televisions as well as computer monitors, laptop computers, mobile phones, personal digital assistants, and other devices. Plaintiffs charged that defendants conspired to raise and fix the prices of TFT-LCD panels and certain products containing those panels for over a decade, resulting in overcharges to purchasers of those panels and products.

In March 2010, the Court certified two nationwide classes of persons and entities that directly purchased TFT-LCDs from January 1, 1999 through December 31, 2006, one class of panel purchasers, and one class of buyers of laptop computers, computer monitors, and televisions that contained TFT-LCDs.

Over the course of the litigation, the classes reached settlements with all defendants except Toshiba. The case against Toshiba proceeded to trial. In July 2012, the jury found that Toshiba participated in the price-fixing conspiracy. The case was subsequently settled, bringing the total settlements in the litigation to over $470 million.