Samsung Electronics Co, Toshiba Corp, Sharp Corp and five other LCD makers were sued in the US by Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan over claims they conspired to fix prices.
The companies agreed to set the price and limit production of LCD panels, used in computers, televisions and mobile phones, from at least Nov. 30, 1998, to Dec. 11, 2006, Madigan said in a 34-page complaint filed on Tuesday in Illinois state court in Chicago.
The alleged scheme resulted in higher prices that hurt consumers and the state, said Madigan, who seeks unspecified damages for overcharges.
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum said yesterday in a statement that his office would file a similar suit alleging price-fixing for thin-film LCD panels. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said on Friday last week he filed an antitrust suit against LCD makers.
James Chung, a spokesman at South Korea-based Samsung, said the company does not comment on legal issues.
Keisuke Ohmori, a spokesman at Tokyo-based Toshiba, said the company “can’t comment at the moment.”
Defendants in Madigan’s suit also include LG Display Co of South Korea, AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) and Chimei Innolux Corp (奇美電子) of Taiwan, Hitachi Ltd of Japan and Epson Imaging Devices Corp, a unit of Japan’s Seiko Epson Corp.
Company officials from both AU Optronics and Chimei declined to comment on the latest litigation raised by Madigan, saying they have not yet seen the legal documents.
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