AGO recovers $63 million in price-fixing scheme affecting millions of Washingtonians

Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced that his office expects to recover a total of $63 million from nine LCD manufacturers, whose price-fixing conspiracy drove up prices consumers paid on items like TVs, laptops and cell phones.

If approved, it will be one of the largest recoveries for Washington by the Attorney General’s Antitrust Division in state history.

For eight years, consumers in Washington and throughout the world were significantly overcharged every time they bought a product with a liquid crystal display, or LCD, screen because of a conspiracy by the world’s largest LCD manufacturers.

For some products, this scheme may have increased the price consumers paid by as much as 20 percent.

“This unfair competition affected millions of Washingtonians over a period of eight years,” Ferguson said. “The scale of today’s agreement reflects the scale of this deception. When powerful interests don't play by the rules, my office will be there to hold them accountable.”

 

Today, the Attorney General’s Office Antitrust Division filed proposed agreements between the state and the remaining manufacturers involved in these actions, resolving the lawsuits his office filed against the companies and their subsidiaries.

The agreements are subject to approval by a King County Superior Court judge at a hearing on May 22.

The bulk of the money recovered will be returned to consumers who purchased products containing LCDs. The LCD panel can account for as much as 80 percent of the cost of a finished device.