The big companies in the LCD manufacturing business such as LG and Samsung, will pay out over a billion dollars to settle a price fixing class-action lawsuit. According to The Wall Street Journal, a total of $1.12 billion in damages will be collected from LCD makers, following the latest round of settlements announced this week. LG Display Co. will be paying the largest settlement with a payout of $380 million in damages. Others include AU Optronics Corp, which settled for $170 million, while Toshiba Corp. agreed to pay $21 million. This is all in addition to settlement agreements made earlier in the year by seven other companies such as Samsung, which previously agreed to pay $240 million.
The prosecutors in the case which began in 2008 asserted that Apple was among a number of device makers who were victims of a price fixing scheme by LCD manufacturers. Supposedly, customers affected by the alleged scheme could receive “substantial amounts” of money, according to the San Francisco-based attorney, Joseph Alioto. Companies who agreed to settle, such as Toshiba and LG, denied any wrongdoings but agreed to settle just to end the ongoing legal dispute.
Not surprisingly, the companies who have agreed to settle in the case include some of Apple’s most prominent LCD suppliers. These include Samsung and LG, both of which have provided for Apple’s products. Samsung was believed to be the only company to have produced Retina displays for the third-generation iPad at launch earlier in the year and LG was the other manufacturer which jumped in at some point, while having provided LCDs for previous-generation iPads. Once the money is paid out the legal issue should be resolved, at least for now.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
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