Hasta La Gadget!

The way LCD price fixing lawsuits keep popping up and settling in short order, you’d think they were going out of style. The latest motley group to face a reckoning includes AU Optronics, LG and Toshiba, the combination of which has agreed to pay a total of $571 million to eight separate American states to either avoid the the legal wrath of a class action lawsuit or to pay an outstanding fine. Allegedly, the trio kept LCD prices artificially high between 1996 and 2006, hiking the prices of PCs and TVs in the process. There’s a slight twist here: while keeping the display builders honest is the primary goal, the class action status will net some direct rewards for the public. Americans who claim to have been wronged in the scandal can get “at least” $25, which goes a lot further towards buying an LCD than it did six years ago.

Filed under: Displays, Home Entertainment

AUO, LG, Toshiba pay $571 million to settle LCD price fixing lawsuit, broken record keeps skipping originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 Jul 2012 13:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toshiba decided not to settle when faced with allegations of price fixing, and now the company may have to pay the price. A jury handed down a verdict in the District Court for the Northern District of California today, hitting the company with $87 million in damages as part of a class action suit. The civil suit, separate from the criminal charges some of its alleged co-conspirators faced, wrapped today with the decision to award consumers $70 million and gave $17 million to manufacturers who purchased the company’s panels. Toshiba may not actually have to pay up, however, thanks to settlements struck by others caught up in the same scandal, which could cover the damages. Regardless, the company maintains its innocence and actually plans to pursue “all available legal avenues” to reverse the decision. For more of Toshiba’s response, check out the PR after the break.

Continue reading Toshiba hit for $87 million in LCD price fixing verdict, maintains innocence

Toshiba hit for $87 million in LCD price fixing verdict, maintains innocence originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Jul 2012 16:17:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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