Cathode Ray Tube Antitrust Litigation

You or your company may have directly purchased Cathode Ray Tubes (CRTs) or certain products containing those tubes between March 1, 1995 and November 25, 2007.  A direct purchaser is a person or business who bought a CRT, or a television or computer monitor containing a CRT directly from one or more of the Defendants, Co-Conspirators, affiliates, or subsidiaries themselves, as opposed to an intermediary (such as a retail store).

You have the right to know about the litigation and about your legal rights and options before you decide whether to request exclusion from the Litigated Class.

The Notice explains the litigation and your legal rights. 

The Court in charge of the case is the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, and the case is called In re Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 1917. The people who sued are called Plaintiffs and the companies they sued are called Defendants.

The Defendants and alleged Co-Conspirators are: Beijing-Matsushita Color CRT Company, Ltd.; Chunghwa Picture Tubes (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.; Chunghwa Picture Tubes, Ltd.; Daewoo Electronics Corporation (f/k/a Daewoo Electronics Company, Ltd.); Daewoo International Corporation; Daewoo-Orion Societe Anonyme; Hitachi America, Ltd.; Hitachi Asia, Ltd.; Hitachi Displays, Ltd.; Hitachi Electronic Devices (USA), Inc.; Hitachi Ltd.; Irico Display Devices Co., Ltd.; Irico Group Corporation; Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. (n/k/a Koninklijke Philips N.V.); LG Electronics Taiwan Taipei Co., Ltd.; LG Electronics USA, Inc.; LG Electronics, Inc.; LP Displays International, Ltd.; Matsushita Electronic Corporation (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.; Mitsubishi Electric Corporation; Mitsubishi Electric US, Inc. (f/k/a Mitsubishi Electric & Electronics USA, Inc.); Mitsubishi Electric Visual Solutions America, Inc. (f/k/a Mitsubishi Digital Electronics America Inc. (f/k/a Mitsubishi Consumer Electronics America, Inc.)); MT Picture Display Co., Ltd. (f/k/a Matsushita Toshiba Picture Display Co., Ltd.); Orion Electric Co.; Panasonic Corporation (f/k/a Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.); Panasonic Corporation of North America; Philips Consumer Electronics Co.; Philips da Amazonia Industria Electronica Ltda. (n/k/a Philips do Brasil, Ltda.); Philips Electronics Industries (Taiwan), Ltd. (n/k/a Philips Taiwan Limited); Philips Electronics Industries Ltd.; Philips Electronics North America Corporation; Samsung Electronics America, Inc.; Samsung SDI (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd.; Samsung SDI Brasil Ltda.; Samsung SDI Co., Ltd. (f/k/a Samsung Display Device Company); Samsung SDI Mexico S.A. de C.V.; Shenzhen Samsung SDI Co. Ltd.; Shenzhen SEG Hitachi Color Display Devices, Ltd.; Technicolor SA (f/k/a Thomson SA); Technicolor USA, Inc. (f/k/a Thomson Consumer Electronics, Inc.); Technologies Displays Americas LLC (f/k/a Thomson Displays Americas LLC); Thai CRT Company, Ltd.; Tianjin Samsung SDI Co., Ltd.; Toshiba America Consumer Products LLC; Toshiba America Consumer Products, Inc.; Toshiba America Electronic Components, Inc.; Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc.; Toshiba America, Inc.; Toshiba Corporation; Toshiba Display Devices (Thailand) Company, Ltd.; and Videocon Industries, Ltd.

The “affiliates and subsidiaries” are: Chunghwa Picture Tubes Fuzhou; Chunghwa Picture Tubes Taiwan; Daewoo Electronics America, Inc.; Hitachi Electronic Display (USA); Hitachi High-Technologies America, Inc. (f/k/a Nissei Sangyo America, Ltd.); Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation (f/k/a Nissei Sangyo Co., Ltd.); Irico Group New Energy Co., Ltd. (f/k/a Irico Group Electronics Co., Ltd.); LG Electronics Service Europe Netherlands B.V.; LG Electronics Wales Ltd.; LG Philips Displays; LG.Philips Displays Brasil Ltda.; LG.Philips Displays Holding B.V.; LG.Philips Displays International Ltd.; LG.Philips Displays Korea Co. Ltd.; LG.Philips Displays Mexico SA de CV; LG.Philips Displays USA Inc.; MELCO Display Devices Mexico, S.A. de C.V.; Mitsubishi Display Devices America, Inc.; Mitsubishi Electric Sales America, Inc.; Mitsubishi Electric US Holdings, Inc.; Mitsubishi Electronics America, Inc.; Mitsubishi Electronics Industries Canada, Inc.; MT Picture Display Corporation of America (New York); MT Picture Display Corporation of America (Ohio); NEC-Mitsubishi Electric Visual Systems Corporation; NEC-Mitsubishi Electronics Display of America, Inc.; NM Visual Systems de Mexico S. A. de C.V.; Orion Electric Components, Co., Ltd.; Orion Engineering & Service, Inc.; Orion Mexicana, SA de CV; P.T. Tosummit Electronic Devices Indonesia; Panasonic AVC Networks America; Panasonic Sikoku Electronics Corporation of America; PCB Integrated Manufacturing System, S.A. de C.V.; Philips Holding USA Inc.; PT.MT Picture Display Indonesia; Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.; Samsung SDI (Hong Kong), Ltd.; Samsung SDI America, Inc.; Samsung SDI Co. Ltd. (Korea); Samsung SDI Germany GmbH; Samsung SDI Hungary Ltd.; Samtel Color, Ltd.; Tatung Company of America, Inc.; TCL International Holdings Ltd.; TCL Thomson Electronics Corporation; Technologies Displays Mexicana, S.A. de C.V. (f/k/a Thomson Displays Mexicana, S.A. de C.V.); Tianjin Samsung SDI Co. Ltd.; TTE Technology, Inc.; and Zenith Electronics Corporation (a/k/a Zenith Electronics LLC).

The lawsuit alleges that Defendants and Co-Conspirators conspired to raise and fix the prices of CRTs and the CRTs contained in certain finished products for over ten years, resulting in overcharges to direct purchasers of those CRTs and certain finished products containing CRTs.  The complaint describes how the Defendants and Co-Conspirators allegedly violated the U.S. antitrust laws by establishing a global cartel that set artificially high prices for, and restricted the supply of CRTs and the televisions and monitors that contained them. Defendants deny Plaintiffs’ allegations.  The Court has not decided who is right.

For the purposes of the class definition, Cathode Ray Tube Products (or “CRT Product”) means Cathode Ray Tubes of any type (e.g. color display tubes and color picture tubes) and finished products which contain Cathode Ray Tubes, such as Televisions and Computer Monitors.

In a class action, one or more people, called class representatives, sue on behalf of people who have similar claims.  All these people are members of the class, except for those who exclude themselves from the class.

If the Plaintiffs obtain money or benefits as a result of a trial or future settlement, you will be notified about those settlements at that time. Important information about the case will be posted on the website, www.CRTDirectPurchaserAntitrustSettlement.com as it becomes available. Please check the website to be kept informed about any future developments.

As a result of a motion filed by the Plaintiffs, on August 1, 2022, the District Court certified a class of Direct Purchaser Plaintiffs (the “Litigated Class”). The Litigated Class includes:

All persons and entities who, between March 1, 1995 and November 25, 2007, directly purchased a CRT Product in the United States from any Defendant or any subsidiary or affiliate thereof, or any Co-Conspirator or any subsidiary or affiliate thereof. Excluded from the class are Defendants, their parent companies, subsidiaries or affiliates, any Co-Conspirators, all governmental entities, and any judges or justices assigned to hear any aspect of this action.

Remain in the Litigated Class: If you wish to remain a member of the Litigated Class, you do not need to take any action at this time.

If you remain a class member, you will be bound by the District Court’s rulings in the lawsuit, including any final judgment.

Get out of the Litigated Class: If you wish to keep your rights to individually sue the Defendants about the claims in this case, you must exclude yourself from the Litigated Class. You will not get any money from any future judgment awarded to the class if you exclude yourself from the Litigated Class.

To exclude yourself from the Litigated Class, you must send a letter that includes the following:

• Your name, address and telephone number;
• A statement stating that you want to be excluded from In re Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Antitrust Litigation, MDL No. 1917, Litigated Class; and
• Your signature.

You must mail your exclusion request, postmarked no later than February 24, 2023, to:

CRT Direct Class Action

P.O. Box 301130
Los Angeles, CA 90030-1130

Unless you exclude yourself from the Settlement Class, you can’t sue the Defendants, or be part of any other lawsuit against these Defendants about the legal issues in this case. It also means that all of the decisions by the Court (including any future class judgment) will bind you.

The Class Representatives are: Arch Electronics, Inc.; Crago, d/b/a Dash Computers, Inc.; Meijer, Inc. and Meijer Distribution, Inc.; Nathan Muchnick, Inc.; Princeton Display Technologies, Inc.; Radio & TV Equipment, Inc.; Studio Spectrum, Inc.; and Wettstein and Sons, Inc., d/b/a Wettstein’s.

Yes. The Court has appointed the law firm of Saveri & Saveri, Inc. to represent you as Lead Counsel. You do not have to pay Lead Counsel. If you want to be represented by your own lawyer, and have that lawyer appear in court for you in this case, you may hire one at your own expense.

The Notice summarizes the lawsuit. You can get more information about the lawsuit (including relevant case documents) at www.CRTDirectPurchaserAntitrustSettlement.com or writing to CRT Direct Class Action, P.O. Box 301130, Los Angeles, CA 90030-1130.  Please do not contact the Court about this case.