The settlement fund for the LCD price fixing class suit has gotten a big boost and reached the $1-billion mark. This major development came as 3 more electronics manufacturing companies were able to broker a settlement deal for the anti-trust class suits that were filed against them. The ongoing courtroom battle which involved key manufacturers of electronics products and their affiliates in the US was the result of the coordinated efforts by a group state attorneys-general.

The class suit stemmed from the allegations by certain groups of price fixing and unfair trade practices committed by some Asian companies that manufacture LCD flat screen panels which were used in flat screen TVs, desktop PCs and laptops from 1999 to 2006. The alleged collusion among the electronics manufacturing companies and their US-based affiliates resulted in bloated prices of these electronic products and these were deemed detrimental to the interests of consumers.

It was in December 2012 that the initial batch of Asian companies – Samsung, Sharp and Hitachi – was able to arrange a settlement deal with the complainants which netted them the sum of $538 million. Just recently, another batch of 3 companies, namely, AU Optronics, Toshiba and LG, and the settlement agreements entered into by these 3 companies netted $571 million, thus bringing the total settlement fund to more than $1.1 billion. Consumers who are eligible to a cash refund are advised to submit their claims on or before December 6, 2012 by visiting LCDclass.com.