Legal News

Dear DOJ: Thank You for my Flat-Screen . . .

By Dan Slater

Hoping the price of that nice flat-screen TV will drop before the holidays hit? You may have your wish. Send thank you cards to Thomas Barnett, the DOJ’s antitrust enforcer-in-chief.

Assistant AG Barnett said three of the largest makers of computer and video screens — LG Display, Sharp and Chunghwa — participated in price-fixing conspiracies that were international in scope and “affected millions of American consumers who use computers, cellphones and numerous other household electronics every day.” They pleaded guilty to criminal price-fixing charges and will pay fines totaling $585 million. Here’s the WSJ report; here’s more from the Recorder.

As a result of the price fixing, electronics manufacturers and, ultimately, consumers were forced to pay higher prices for televisions, cellphones and other products using liquid-crystal displays, the DOJ said. Products thought to be affected included iPods, Razr phones, and laptops and computer monitors from Dell.

South Korea’s LG Display will pay a $400 million fine, the second-highest criminal fine ever imposed by the Justice Department’s antitrust division. Sharp, of Japan, will pay a fine of $120 million; Chunghwa, of Taiwan, $65 million.

Sharp said in a statement that it “understands the gravity of this situation and will strengthen and thoroughly implement measures to prevent the recurrence of this kind of problem. . .” An LG spokesperson did not return the WSJ’s call seeking comment. Chunghwa could not immediately be reached for comment.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on November 13, 2008 (boomark / email).