AUO, LG & Toshiba LCD Panel Price Fixing Class Action Lawsuit Settlement – $543.5 Million
The amount of the AUO, LG & Toshiba LCD Panel Price Fixing Class Action Lawsuit Settlement is an astounding $543.5 million. This has been a case that has lasted six years and was filed in many states. AU Optronics, LG Display and Toshiba have been accused of fixing the price of the LCD panels. The companies were accused of this crime in 2006. The panels were for TVs, laptops and also any other equipment that used the LCD panels.
The initial settlement did not include the three companies mentioned here. Seven LCD panel makers settled for $553 million but the three mentioned here refused to settle. Due to the price fixing, many consumers ended up paying higher prices for the TVs, computers and other devices that had these screens or panels. The AUO, LG & Toshiba LCD Panel Price Fixing Class Action Lawsuit Settlement amount includes an additional $27.5 million. This money will be paid to the eight states involved in this case. The is for civil penalties. The actual amount of $543.5 million will be given to all those who bought the LCD panels as it was not fair for these consumers to have paid extra due to the price fixing of all the companies involved. I am glad that there finally is a settlement for the last three companies that had refused to pay before.
Again, like a lot of companies that are sued, the 10 companies involved in the LCD panel price fixing say that they did nothing wrong. They say that they are settling so as to avoid further costs in the long running litigation. Right. That is always what they say. It is amazing to me why these companies always deny that did anything wrong. It always gets me upset when this happens.
So if you are one of those people who bought an LCD panel from AU Optronics (AUO), LG Display and Toshiba, then you deserve to get some compensation from the settlement. You will have to submit a claim form in order to get this compensation. You will be able to get $25 if you file a claim. Now you may be wondering why you are getting only $25 when the company settled this for $543.5 million. The reason is because of the sheer number of people who will be filing a claim form for compensation. There will be about $20 million people who will be claiming the money in the United States.
However, do not expect payment in this case to be quick. Even the company has agreed to pay, the money will not get to you for a very long time. It might even take years. In the first LCD Panel Class Action Lawsuit Settlement, the people who filed their claim forms on time still have not been paid. So you can imagine how long it is going to take for you to get your money when you file a valid claim form. So you have to be very patient. In the original settlement, there were two classes who were able to get compensation. What each class received was different. The two classes were the direct purchasers and the indirect purchasers. The direct purchasers where those who bought the product directly from the defendants. The indirect purchasers bought the product indirectly from a intermediary or a retailer. I assume that in this settlement, there will be the same two classes.
So make sure that you submit your claim form for the right class. Otherwise you will be disqualified as improperly filled out claim forms will be considered void. There is no information as yet as to how you can make your claim. You should keep checking the website for more information. If you are a class member, you will most like get something in the mail or even in your email. This will most probably be a notice of some kind. So do keep a look out for that.
Once you get information on the settlement website, you will most probably be able to file your claim online. This is the easiest way to submit your claims and any data that is required from you. You are not comfortable doing this online, you will be able to download the claim form and send it via regular mail.
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