Consumers who purchased laptops, camcorders, cordless power tools or other electronic devices powered by lithium-ion batteries since 2000 might be eligible for cash payments under an agreement reached in a class action settlement. Plaintiffs in the class action lawsuit represent indirect purchasers who allege the defendants conspired to “fix, raise, maintain, and/or stabilize the prices of the batteries.”
Plaintiffs accuse the defendants of violating several state and federal antitrust laws that prohibit price fixing collusion. The result of the lithium-ion battery price fixing was indirect purchasers of portable computers and other types of electronic devices paid much higher prices for the products than they would have paid in a fair market.
Defendants in the class action settlement deny the allegations of price fixing. Nonetheless, defendants agreed to the class action settlement to avoid costly protracted litigation. Class action settlement defendants Sony Corporation, NEC Corporation, LG Chem Ltd, LG Chem America Inc., Hitachi Maxell Ltd., and Maxell Corporation of America have agreed to pay more than $45 million in punitive damages to eligible class members.
What You Need To Know
According to the class action settlement website www.ReverseTheCharge.com, “The Class includes all persons and entities who, as residents of the United States and during the period from January 1, 2000 through May 31, 2011, indirectly purchased new for their own use and not for resale one of the following products which contained a lithium-ion cylindrical battery manufactured by one or more Defendants in this lawsuit or their co-conspirators: (i) a portable computer, (ii) a power tool, (iii) a camcorder, or (iv) a replacement battery for any of these products.” Class members have until June 12, 2017 to contest the lithium-ion battery class action settlement or decide to opt out of the class.
Eligible class members receive benefits only if they purchased a product containing the specified type of lithium-ion battery from a retailer, not the manufacturer of the battery. The amount each class member receives depends on the total number of claims, as well as the number of eligible products purchased by consumers. The deadline to file a claim form is September 30, 2017, with the final hearing scheduled for Lithium Ion Batteries Antitrust Litigation – All Indirect Purchaser Actions, MDL No. 2420, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California on August 1, 2017. Defense Counsel for Sony Corporation include John C. Dwyer, Stephen C. Neal, Beatriz Mejia, Matthew M. Brown from Cooley LLP. The legal counsel for NEC Corp. encompasses Robert B. Pringle, Paul R. Griffin, Sean D. Meenan, Jennifer E. Parsigian, and Dana L. Cook-Milligan. Several attorneys representing different law firms comprise the class counsel.
