Hitachi Toshiba Mitsubishi chip price litigation settlement
According to foreign media reports, documents from the Federal Court of San Francisco showed that Hitachi, Toshiba and Mitsubishi agreed to pay $27.8 million to settle the allegations of chip price manipulation.
The plaintiff in the case was a direct purchaser of DRAM chips, and they alleged that the three companies charged US users an excessive fee between 1999 and 2002. According to documents submitted by the plaintiff’s lawyer on Thursday, Hitachi will pay $11.5 million, Toshiba will pay $9.2 million, and Mitsubishi will pay $7.1 million.
However, according to the settlement agreement, none of the above three companies recognized the misconduct. None of the lawyers and spokespersons of the three companies commented.
DRAM is a chip that is used in computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices. The US Department of Justice launched a survey in 2002 on the manipulation of global DRAM chip prices by a number of vendors. Consumers, system integrators and computer distributors subsequently filed suit against the companies involved. The US Department of Justice said that the investigation involved a total of about $732.7 million in fines for four companies and at least 16 people.
Other chip makers have previously agreed to pay $326 million to settle the lawsuit. Hitachi, Toshiba and Mitsubishi were not listed as defendants in a lawsuit. The settlement document shows that lawyers will draw up to 30% of the settlement fee.
Court documents show that California's other states in the United States have previously filed a lawsuit against consumers and other institutions that purchased computers and electronics containing DRAM chips between 1998 and 2002, and eventually reached a settlement, but did not disclose specific terms.
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